A Single Flower
by ULTRA ALICE
Summary: Even in the most adverse conditions, a seed can still be planted and eventually bloom. I am me, and you are you. In the end, if that's what brings us together, so be it. Hiei x OC
1. Beginnings

A Single Flower

-x-

A/N: So taking a shot at fanfiction. Here it is! Just to let you all know this is a story told as if my OC was there from the beginning. I know these stories aren't really popular, but hey, I want to give it a shot. Wish me luck you guys!

-x-

"_How could you allow this cursed child to exist?"_

"_She must not tarnish our clan any longer. Either you die, or she dies."_

"_She's your daughter."_

"_Sakura…my daughter…"_

"_If they find her, they will kill her and they will kill you."_

"_They will kill you."_

"Father!" I shot up from my bed, drenched in sweat, and I was breathing heavily. I turned my head, and to my left to face my window. Light was beginning to pour its way into my room. Morning. "Just a dream…nightmare, maybe." I told myself as I calmed my breath.

I used the sleeve of my night gown to wipe away the small beads that had accumulated from my episode. As I did, I caught a glimpse of my alarm clock, and realized I was going to be late this morning…again.

I ran into the bathroom and quickly brushed my light brown hair that fell just a couple of inches past my shoulder, out of my face. I wiped the sleep out of my maroon colored eyes, and slapped my face a bit to wake myself up.

Once I was done washing up, and had my uniform on, I rushed downstairs to have my daily greetings for father and grandfather.

I made it to the dining room just as the maids were clearing away the dishes. I managed to quickly snag a piece of toast right before they headed back into the kitchens. "Good morning father!" I said cheerfully, as I sat next to him on one end.

At the other end of the dining table, a newspaper was promptly put down, revealing an older, plump man I had the misfortune to call my grandfather. "That daughter of yours…always too damn cheery in the morning." He complained.

My father, a rather plain looking man, looked at me with a 'I don't want any problems this morning' sort of look. I grumbled and managed to spit out, "Sorry grandfather. Good morning," In a quieter and dull tone.

This was my life. The life of twelve year old Sakura Kayano. Daughter of Toru Butajiri. And sadly, granddaughter of Kentaro Butajiri.

I loved my father dearly, and loathed my grandfather. It always pained me that I was stuck with the decent last name of my runaway mother, while my kind father was left with the last name of his own father. Butajiri. A pig's rump. Fit the old man perfectly.

However, my father and I were living with him, so I was supposed to be thankful; at least that's what father always reminded me. Then again, he didn't seem to mind that grandfather was involved with shady dealings of what he called the 'Black Black Club.'

I wasn't even supposed to know the name, but father let it slip out one time. The only thing I knew was that old men like grandfather Butajiri gathered and did dealings of some sort and it always involved money.

"What are you staring at?" My grandfather raised his voice at me and gave me a dirty look.

"Sorry grandfather." I apologized and looked away from him. I would never understand how he and my father were related.

"Sakura, shouldn't you be heading off to school?" My father advised me. I looked at him and nodded.

"I'm off to school!" I announced. I was about to exit the kitchen after saying goodbye to my father, but then I remembered my dreams that had violently awoken me. He was dying.

I shook my head and ran back to him and gave him a hug. "Please, remember to take your medicine." I reminded him.

He chuckled lightly. "This is out of the blue."

I smiled at him. "I'm just being a loving daughter," I teased. "But really, don't forget to take your medicine okay? I'll be leaving now. Don't worry. I love you father." I bid him farewell again and headed out the door.

Just as I was about to exit, I was pulled aside by the head of the maids in the household. She was tall and had red curled hair that framed her face. "Don't run in the house Sakura. It's not very ladylike." She reminded me. Feeling embarrassed, I looked up at her with a meek smile, and her straight lined mouth, slowly curved into a smile as well. "I suppose I didn't stop you for etiquette lessons. Here," She handed me a bento box as her green eyes softened. "You almost forgot your lunch."

I smiled and took the lunch with gratitude. "Thank you Miss Megumi." I politely bowed and practically leaped outside, and into the car, which earned a good chuckle from the driver. After that, it was a smooth ride to Ayanagi Junior Academy.

We drove past the usual scenery of lush green trees that surrounded the mansion I lived in. I looked back to see it was getting smaller and smaller. I turned my attention to the front and noticed the driver seemed occupied with navigating his way out into the main roads.

I held my hand out and focused on my palm for what seemed like a long time. Eventually a white, glowing spark appeared hovering over my palm. I watched in delight as I made it spin, grow and shrink. It looked as if I was holding a tiny sparkler in my hand.

"Miss Sakura," I made the spark disappear as I saw the driver look up in the rear view mirror. "Would you like to be dropped in the front, or from the side today?" He asked me politely.

"Side, please Eido. I have practice today."

"As you wish, Miss Sakura."

I let out a small sigh of relief as he shifted his eyes away from the backseat and onto the road. No one was supposed to know that I could do something as odd as that. It was a secret that I even kept from father. I remembered when I first showed him…

"_Father look! Look what I can do!" I was five at the time. I could create that small spark in my palm. It had happened out of nowhere._

"_Sakura!" Father had grabbed my wrist. "Listen to me, don't you ever do that. Ever. No one must know you can do that. Are you listening Sakura? Don't do it ever again." I nodded and obeyed out of fear. It was the first and only time I remember father raising his voice at me._

"Miss Sakura, we're here." I looked to see the scenery had stopped moving. I got up and grabbed my belongings and got out of the car. "Thank you Eido." I said as he closed the door for me.

"Sakura! About time you got here!" Two girls my age came up running to me. "Overslept again?"

I laughed with them and nodded. "Good morning to you too, Maki, Arisa." My two friends. My best friends. I had known them since elementary and the three of us did everything together. That included the gymnastic clubs, to which I almost missed out on practice today.

We met almost every morning, and I didn't want to brag, but I was pretty good. Our instructor told me once that I was very agile and fast, even as I was getting older. I wonder if father would be okay if I made this into a dream profession. I rather liked the idea of representing Japan in the Olympics. The three of us walked side by side into the gym and went out with our mornings.

After practice, we all dressed up in our school uniforms. "So, Sakura, think your father will let you join the karate club this year?" Maki asked me as she fixed the collar on her uniform.

I pressed down on my black skirt and thought about her question. Then I shook my head. "Probably not."

"Your old man lets you do anything practically. How come not this?" Arisa asked as she struggled to get her ribbon to stay in place.

She was right. Father usually let me do things of my own free will. However, whenever I asked to join the karate club, each year, he told me it wasn't necessary and I should focus on my studies. I obeyed of course, but I just wished he gave me a better reason.

I shrugged to indicate to them it wasn't too much of a big deal. I hated lying to them though. "I guess violence isn't his thing? You know you guys are free to join without me." I told them as we headed to our homeroom.

"As if! We always do things together." They both reminded me and I laughed.

Life was good. I had a loving father, wonderful friends, and I was part of an elite family.

I'll admit things were a bit routine, but it was peaceful. Today was no different than any other. At least, I thought so.

I sat absentmindedly in homeroom. I was never academically smart. I saw no importance in what we learned. I felt I was meant for something more than what they thought. In my daze, I didn't seem to notice the door opening, interrupting our teacher's lecture.

"Kayano? Sakura Kayano?" My name pulled me back into reality. I looked over to see it was the principal of our school, gesturing me to come outside.

I got up and headed out. I tried to pretend it was nothing, but the stares of my classmates wondering what trouble I had gotten myself into, was unnerving.

We stood outside the classroom. "Did…did I do something wrong?" I asked first, unable to look into his eyes.

When I finally had the guts to, I saw he shook his head gravely. That was reassuring. "Your driver has come to pick you up. It's your father." Those last three words sent me into a state of panic. A million thoughts raced in my head, but all I did was nod as the principal escorted me out of the school and to my car.

The ride was silent. I didn't want to talk to Eido and I'm sure he knew that whatever he said wouldn't put my mind at ease until I got home and saw my father for myself. When we made it back home, I was greeted by Megumi who had a solemn look on her face. "Welcome home young miss. I apologize for calling you out of class today." She greeted me, and walked me to my father's room.

He was lying in bed, and had some sort of IV attached to him. He noticed my presence I assumed as he had turned his head when I had entered without a sound. Megumi exited and closed the door to allow us privacy.

He let out a small chuckle. "I told them not to take you out of class. What are they doing worrying a small girl like you." He smiled but the rest of his face held faint expressions of weakness.

I rushed over immediately to his side. "Father, what happened?" I asked nearly on the verge of tears. I hated seeing him so frail.

He raised his hand and patted me on the head. "Now, now Sakura. I took my medicine just like you said. Don't worry. I was just more lightheaded than usual today, that's all." That meant he had collapsed.

I recalled Megumi apologizing to me for taking me out of class. I didn't think of it as strange then since I was too worried. But now, it was worse. Father had collapsed before, but it was never a reason to call me out of school. It was something far worse this time around. I could feel it.

We heard the door move and I turned to see it was my grandfather. He looked at me with annoyance. "Is this brat disturbing your rest?"

"No father, she's fine." My father defended me.

"Hmph, even so, she should leave and let you sleep." My grandfather argued.

"No," I defied. "I'm not leaving father's side until he gets better." I replied and stared harshly back at my grandfather. I was in no mood to obey and respect the old geezer today.

He jeered at me and flicked the butt of his cigarette towards my direction. "Rest up Toru. You'll need it if that forsaken child is going to be by your side." He left without another word.

"Ignore your grandfather, Sakura. You can stay here, but just for the night." I smiled a little and nodded. Even in pain he tried to be the lecturing father.

Still, even though he had said it was just for the night, one day became a couple as I stopped going to school. Regardless of rest and medication, he seemed to just get worse. I was told doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong.

"Miss Sakura, you must go to school today." Megumi told me after I had finished my breakfast. "Don't protest. I have to follow your grandfather's orders above your fathers. He'll still be there when you get back. I promise." She gave me the look that I could only guess a mother would to a fretting child.

Megumi was stern, but she was caring. She might as well have been the mother I never had in my life. I made her pinky promise before I let Eido drive me to school for the day.

What did it matter though if I went to school? I couldn't focus even more than usual, and Maki and Arisa didn't touch on the subject of my father, which I was grateful for. Others weren't so kind. They were always asking questions and it annoyed me greatly. It was none of their business. I just wanted to go home and be by his side again.

When the last bell rang, I felt a little more relaxed knowing I could finally be at my father's side again. When I arrived, Miss Megumi was there to greet me as usual. "Your father wishes to speak to you, Miss Sakura." And it was her who escorted me once again to his room and left the two of us to talk.

Just hours away from him and seeing him again made me realize he had gotten much thinner over the course of a few days. He had grey hairs visible. When did father get so old?

"Sakura, how was school?" It's like he was trying to make things seem normal. But they weren't.

"It was okay. How are you feeling?" I knew the answer to that.

"Better now that you're here. Come here Sakura." He gestured me over and I sat by his bedside. "I don't know how much longer I have." His voice was barely above a whisper.

I shook my head. "Don't be silly. You'll get better. You always have." I said on the verge of tears. This isn't what I wanted to come home to.

"Perhaps. But if I don't…Sakura there is something you need to know." His face had a look of grave importance. I listened intently and shook my head indicating for him to go on. "Sakura, have you always wondered about your mother?" He asked me.

"W-Why should I? I have you. I don't need someone like her. She left us." She left me. "I have you." I told him again feeling baffled that he would bring her up out of the blue. We never talked about her and I was okay with that. She left him and she left me. I didn't need anyone like that in my life.

"Sakura, there is so little you understand. You're so young, and I wish you could live the way a twelve year old should. But you can't. Because of who you are." He said quietly.

"Who I am?" I was confused. I was Sakura Kayano, his daughter. He shouldn't be wasting his energy like this.

"Sakura, did you know demons exist? Often little children hear the word and they become afraid. Not all of them are ugly. Your mother for example." I was starting to think he was getting worse. Illusions? Hallucinations? I couldn't think of the proper word.

"Does it sound farfetched? Perhaps, but it's the truth. Your mother was a demon, and I am a mere human. But somehow despite all of that, you came about. Sakura, you're not completely human." I told myself he was saying nonsense because he was so ill, but somehow…I still felt hurt by those words.

"Father, you must be tired. You're not making any sense." I wanted to change the subject.

He shook his head slightly. "No Sakura, it's time you know the truth. Do you remember when you were little? You showed me how you could make sparks in your hand. Show me again, won't you?" He asked.

I flinched back a little. How did he know I could still do that? "A father always knows." He said as if he had read my mind. "Please, Sakura."

I bit my lip but held out my hand and made a spark appear. It was bright in the room considering the curtains were closed and no lights were on. It was just the two of us watching the spark move at its own will.

"Perhaps it's my fault for sheltering you like this. You should've known from the beginning. Do you think a human could do that?" He asked me.

"Magicians…do strange things all the time." I felt like I was being accused by my own father. I felt I was up for examination and every little strange thing about me was coming to the surface.

"It's all fake Sakura, but what you can do is real. There's a reason you're at the top of gymnastics. It's most likely in your demon genes." Stop calling me that father.

"I practice a lot…." I lied. I never really practiced, but that didn't mean it wasn't all thanks to natural talent.

He managed a chuckle. "Sakura, it's a lot to take in. I understand. Sakura, I'm telling you because you need to know. You're only half human. You take your mother's half by being part demon. But Sakura, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. In the end, you are you. And that's what matters." He sounded so accepting as if this was nothing but the truth to him.

I got up and covered my ears. "Stop it! You're lying! You're just saying this because you're sick!"

The door burst open and my grandfather came in. "What's this ruckus?" He spotted me and his face seemed livid. He grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me out. "Ungrateful, little monster. Is that how you react around your dying father?" He dragged me all the way to my room and threw me in.

I sat there on the floor. "I'm a child!" I yelled at him. I yelled it again even though he closed the door on me the second time. "Why would he call me a monster?" I asked to no one. Is it because what father said…

I shook my head at the thought. "No, Sakura. He's sick. And grandfather is always a cruel man." I said to reassure myself.

I didn't leave my room. Not for the rest of the night. I couldn't face my father who currently thought I was some demon. It'd be best to wait for him to return to normal. Normal…

At that thought, I continued to sit in the dark and held out my hand to form the sparks. I shrunk it, I made it grew, and I spun it. "Normal children can't do this…can they?" I went over to my dresser.

Though it was dark, I could see the faint features of myself and as my eyes adjusted, I could see my reflection. I had long brown hair, maroon eyes, and no marks on my face. I didn't look like a demon though…

I decided to talk to my father again now that I was calmer. I headed over to his room and stopped seeing light come out from the door way. I could hear hushed voices.

I crept over to the small opening, and just listened. I could tell it was my grandfather in the room and if I interrupted while he was in there, I'm sure things would get even uglier than they sounded in that moment.

"You told her?" He angrily yelled at my father. How dare he when he was sick?

"She has the right to know. Who will tell her once I'm gone?" My father replied calmly.

"Rights? What rights? She is a demon child. Complete and utter scum. You should've killed her when you had the chance. You think she won't grow up to be a monster? She'll be just like her mother. Robbing innocent men of their lives. That's why you're sick. I bet that disgusting thing you call a daughter is draining you of your energy." I wanted to throw up.

"Sakura is not a monster." My father calmly stated to my grandfather. "She doesn't even look like one. She's just a little girl."

"Hmph, no doubt to your genes being poured into that monstrosity. Aren't you afraid of her at all?"

"Of course I'm afraid."

And with those words, I ran back to my room. My father was afraid of me. For him to say that so easily…I had to be a monster. I looked again in the mirror. I didn't know who I was anymore.

-x-

Weeks passed, and I didn't leave my room. I didn't go to school, and I didn't visit my father. It wasn't until one morning that I heard he had passed away in the night. I was forced to leave the room, and be in attendance for the funeral by my grandfather. He still had a face to keep.

He disgusted me even more than usual. When the funeral was over, we went home. If I could even call it home anymore.

I wanted to make my way up to my room right away, but my grandfather stopped me halfway up the stairs.

"You know you killed him. You must've taken all his life just so you could live longer. I don't care if part of you is human. You're still a monster who should be locked up."

"Why don't you just kill me then?" I retorted. I didn't wait for an answer and headed back to my room.

Once my father passed away, news seemed to circulate through the household that I wasn't exactly 'pure' as they called it. Those who once doted on me, now feared me.

"I'm leaving your food here." Megumi had said to me on the day it was her turn to deliver my meals. She put the tray right at the door step.

"Are you afraid of me too Megumi?" I had asked her while I remained seated to the foot of my bed.

She took a step back as if my voice could do something from our distance. "You've probably tried to kill me too, just like your father." And she left without another word.

I was starting to accept the fact that maybe I really did kill my own father. Even though I know I hadn't. I couldn't have. I had loved that man. The man who said he feared me. I had no reason to kill him.

A couple of days passed after the funeral and I was surprised my grandfather didn't take my suggestion to heart. I was still alive.

-x-

I woke up to the sounds of hushed voices. After a few seconds my eyes focused and I could see people. I could also feel myself being restrained.

I moved my head up and saw at the foot of the bed was my grandfather.

"Finally up eh? Heh, good, I wanted you to be awake for this." He held up sheets of paper with strange writings on them. "A lot of money was invested into creating this. It's supposed to burn weaker demons. You're only half, but it should be strong enough." He laughed darkly as he brought it closer to my skin.

I didn't think it was real, but as soon as it touched my skin, I felt a burning sensation and yelled out in pain. Tears started to brim at my eyes. Not out of pain, but because this stupid paper had just confirmed what I had secretly hoped was wrong about me.

Butajiri kept laughing, but he stopped. "Heh, what a good investment. Hang them up around her room boys. We need to keep her contained. And get Tarukane on the phone. He'll be glad to know his funding helped. I hear he wants to capture a demon for himself." He exited the room. "I'll make sure to leave an opening on the windows so you can witness your funeral."

I looked at him, ignoring the pain still on my right wrist. "My what?"

He gestured to his clothing. "Why do you think I'm wearing mourning clothes? You'll be cooped up in here now. We don't need anyone to be suspicious of why you never show up to school. We managed to make it look like you killed yourself. Out of grief for your father. Ironic isn't it? A pathetic half-breed like you having feelings for the person you killed yourself." He laughed again. "You will no longer exist to anyone who knew you before." He had a maniacal glint in his eyes as he told me this and then left without another word.

After all of the talismans were put up, I noticed that they did leave a small clearing on the window so that I could look out of. I got as close as I could to avoid getting another burn.

My eyes widened at the sight. He was telling the truth. I could see them place a casket into the ground. People were there from my school. From the small crowd, I could see my grandfather feigning sadness which disgusted me.

Not too far from him, I saw Maki and Arisa. My two friends…who were crying…over me. I wonder if they would've still shed tears if they knew what I truly was. They seemed so close…yet so far.

"Maki! Arisa!" I called out to them. "Maki, Arisa! I'm up here! I'm alive!" I yelled and went to bang on the windows before I was reeled back from the pain of touching the talismans. "I'm in here. I'm not dead…I'm here…" I cried out.

My time in my room, that was now my prison, was often spent feeling alone, attempting to get out despite the talismans, or just sitting and creating the spark that once brought me so much entertainment. I passed my days like this for two years.

Two years, and on my fourteenth birthday, my grandfather entered and said he had a surprise for me. With that, I was knocked out.

I don't know how long I was out, but when my eyes opened, I saw that I was no longer in my room. Instead, I was in a large room. I stood up and wondered just where I was. Out of nowhere a screen had come down from the ceiling and in a few seconds, my grandfather could be seen, and heard.

"If you notice, you're not alone in this room." He started and waited for me to look around. I did, but not before shooting a glare at him.

He was right, I wasn't by myself. Stuck in this room with me were familiar faces. "Eido…Megumi?" I said seeing them across the room and on opposite sides of each other.

"So you still remember them?" My grandfather asked. "I've decided to entertain myself a little. Surely you can provide that for me. Tarukane has an apparition that can produce jewels. Tch, wish you were somewhat useful. So put on a good show. Today, we'll see who is more superior. A human, demon, or a little half-breed like you."

"Demon?" I looked around and saw no one else.

"Hehe, you must be an extremely stupid one not to notice that a demon had been carrying you too and from school." My grandfather said. "It's part of the job as well as being a bodyguard, but he gets the job done when needed."

I turned quickly to Eido and saw the human appearance he once had was no longer there. Instead I was faced with a large, blue-skinned demon. "I've wanted to off this one for a long time." His voice remained the same. "She's a disgrace to our kind."

"Hold your horses there, Eido. Here's how it will work. If you kill her, you both live, if she kills at least one of you, then you both die." He addressed to Eido and Megumi.

Eido reconfigured his slender blue arms into a blade of some sort and proceeded to lick it. "I don't plan on dying. If I kill her, can I still kill that little maid over there?" Was Eido always so blood-thirsty? Was that what a demon was like?

I looked over to see Megumi flinch. Butajiri laughed. "I like your style, but no she needs to be kept around…even if she did associate with a disgusting creature like that." The only disgusting creature around was my grandfather.

"Well, looks like you know the drill. Either you die, or you have to kill them. It's up to you." With those last words, Eido started to come at me and Megumi pulled a standard kitchen knife out of her apron. I could understand why. Like me, she was just trying to survive.

I ran around and often I was close to being cut by Eido's bladed arm. Megumi was easy to dodge. I guess it had to deal with her age. That or it's because I was part demon. Though I didn't want to think of it that way. In my head, I told myself I could dodge them because I was the best in my gymnastics class. I could do flips and all sorts of turns and twists. Even if it had been two years since I attended practice.

This cat and mouse game continued for quite some time. That is, until they both learned they had a common goal. I could see the two of them running towards one another with me in between. They were getting closer and closer until…

I had expected to be smashed together by the two and dead, but I was witnessing Eido with his bladed arm right through Megumi's stomach.

"Tch…missed." He said as he flung her body towards me.

I gasped in horror at the thought. It didn't matter that she had pulled a weapon on me. I had known her most of my life and considered her like a mother. And here she was, dying. "M-Megumi? You saved me?" I asked in disbelief and near tears. I already lost my father, was I really going to lose someone else who helped raised me?

"S…Sakura…" She was straining to speak.

"I'm here Miss Megumi." I said grabbing her hand in an effort to comfort her.

"Don't…be…stupid." She managed to utter, and I dropped her hand instantly. Nothing had changed. "I was only trying to push you towards his direction, but…I….slipped. Because of you, I'm dying. You don't belong here. Let him kill you. You're nothing but…a monster in the façade of a young girl. It's…revolting really…to think…I doted on you once…" She was gasping for air at this point. "Just…die…" She closed her eyes and died in my arms.

I bet if she had the choice, she would've died anywhere else but my arms. But I was still sad.

"Don't cry." I looked up to see Eido cleaning the blood off his arm. "You'll join her shortly. If you can, with demon blood flowing in you as well."

"Eido please." I said. "You don't have to do this…it's like you said. I have demon blood flowing in me. Shouldn't that mean anything? You having no compassion for killing a human. It's because you're an apparition right? But surely killing your own kind…must strike a chord?" I tried to reason through my tears.

He laughed at my plea. "Demons aren't like you humans. Forming teams and alliances. We do what is best for us in the end. Even if you weren't half human, I would still kill you if I had to. The fact that you thought we had some sort of bond, just shows how you still retain your human self. It's disgusting having something like you alive. You're a disgrace to our kind!" He yelled as he started to run, preparing for another gash. This time at me.

I realized this was how my life had always been. I was abandoned by my mother, no doubt for my status, and my father feared me. I didn't belong to either human or demon. I was unwanted. Hated by both sides.

I held up my arms in an x-like shape for a shield. I was merely bracing myself as if I was accepting my death. But…I didn't want to die. Not like this. Out of hatred. I didn't want to die.

"Not like this!" I yelled out my fear and wish, and just as Eido had jumped into the air to prepare to kill me, a light seemed to engulf around me.

"What is this?" He shrieked. I couldn't hear what else he said as things started to become blurry…and I suddenly felt tired like I had just jogged many miles. My hand felt heavy. Had he hit me? No, there was no pain. I could see the faint outline of something on the wrist of my right hand before things went black again.

-x-

After I had woken up from the fight, I was in my room again. I remember seeing more talismans. When I woke up Butajiri was notified. He yelled at me for hiding such a display of power and I needed to be locked away forever.

That explained the increase in talismans. But…even though he had placed double the amount…it hurt about the same as the first amount he had put up.

I remember he wouldn't tell me what happened in the fight, but by word of others who walked by my room, I could hear that I summoned some sort of weapon, and the energy created had killed Eido.

That was another thing I noticed in my confinement. My hearing seemed to improve. I suppose I was pretty good at hearing faint sounds before, but I never put too much thought into it.

Taking this information in, I started to think more about my situation. Perhaps…my demon side was starting to develop after it had been suppressed by my father for so many years. It explained why I couldn't join karate club at least. He feared of my strength that would come with it.

But now that I knew, the thoughts in my head turned and started to formulate on how I could escape.

In my solace, I tried to re-summon the weapon I apparently brought forth against Eido. Within a few months…I had succeeded. It was an odd thing. It rested on my hands and was bladed on both sides. It had the capacity to spin as well.

It was interesting but I wasn't sure how to use it. I started to spend time practicing how to use it. If I didn't want to be caught, I simply sat facing the wall so they couldn't see me practicing making sparks and shooting it from my palms.

Then, the day finally came.

I was scared. I was about to throw myself into a world where if my nature was revealed, I had the chance of being hunted by everyone. But…surely it must've been better than here.

I summoned my weapon and I looked at myself in the mirror one last time. My hair had gotten extremely long. It was time for a change. I took my hair and held my weapon to it and cut it off. I looked into the mirror and saw it was short now. Just above my shoulders with wispy ends and a bit uneven. The look somehow fit me though.

I went over to the window where I once had witnessed my funeral. Like I had witnessed my death, today I would experience and see my rebirth. I started to form a large spark and finally shot it at the wall. It blasted a large hole into the wall and talismans were sent flying.

I took a couple of steps back for a running head start, and then jumped out of the hole. The talismans that clung to the side affected me. But it was more of a tingle now. I had landed no problem. The noise would surely catch their attentions soon, so I ran for it.

I ran away from the place I once called home. I didn't know where I was heading, but this was a new start. Sakura Kayano died a long time ago. She didn't exist. I was just Sakura. I was always just Sakura.

-x-

A/N: So this was just a background chapter and YYH characters will be introduced in the next. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	2. Theft

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews you guys! Here is the next chapter with the YYH cast! Yay!

-x-

It had been about two or three days since I left the Butajiri household. A part of me wanted to stick around to see their reaction to me having escaped. After all, I'm sure they thought I was in a secure prison. I wonder if they were out looking for me, or maybe they had hoped I had died in the process of escaping.

But, I was still alive.

I wasn't left with much to do besides head to the city. Not the best decision considering when I walked around the city, I often got strange looks. I bet it was due to my uniform. Some must have recognized it was from the private school I went to. What was a girl of my status doing out here? If I had money, I would've changed outfits.

Well, I couldn't complain. I was lucky that my uniform still fit me after two years. I suppose when you're locked up in a room, you fail to grow at all. I was still only at five feet. I wonder if it was really due to malnutrition or my other blood.

I sighed as I looked around me. People were still sprawling about heading home or leaving their jobs for a night out on the town. Were humans always this boring and predictable? I had such a negative view of them now. Humans were cruel...and quick to judge. If something was different they quickly shunned it.

I grew bored of wandering and people watching so I made my way to the outskirts of the city. It was quieter and I'm sure it'd be a good place to gather my thoughts. Well, if my thoughts weren't so preoccupied with hunger. The growling coming from it sounded almost insatiable. "…I'm hungry." I stated the obvious to myself.

"My, my, what a coincidence. I'm sure Yatsude is hungry too!" I turned around and before I knew it, I was being grabbed by a man who seemed to be salivating. It was revolting to say the least.

I thought he was a man at first, but the fact that he had a strong grip over my new found strength, it meant something different. Then it finally hit once I got a lock on his energy and realized it was different. "Let me go!" I shouted since the struggle obviously failed. The worst part was that he had grabbed me by my wrists preventing me from shooting any electricity at him. I bet he would have been surprised. Though it was pointless to dwell on things I couldn't do.

He let out a laugh. "You seem to have a lot of energy about you. Yatsude will surely be pleased!" He let out a cackle after his little high pitched voiced tirade.

"Yeah you keep saying that, but who the hell is that?" I yelled and continued to struggle.

"If you won't come quietly, I'll make you." And just like that, I was knocked out again.

-x-

"Are you…you okay?" A voice was calling out to me. Who was it?

I was beginning to come out of my stupor and a voice of concern was the first thing I heard. It had been awhile. My eyes eventually opened and I could barely see anything. It was dark. When my eyes adjusted, I could make out bars. I was in a cage. Trapped inside with me was a young girl. She must have been the source of the voice. She looked about my age actually. "Were you caught too?" She asked.

"W-Where are we?" I asked, slowly getting up and trying to make sense of what happened before.

She sat back down and sighed. "I don't know. I just remember seeing Minamino run off and suddenly everything went black…and I woke up here. I'm Maya Kitajima by the way." She held out her hand to me.

I was wary of everyone I seemed to be running into these days, so I didn't mind that I came off as rude by not accepting it. I nodded to acknowledge her at least. "I'm Sakura." I couldn't be so sure she wasn't with the guy who knocked me out in the first place.

"Sakura." She smiled, completely unfazed by my lack of manners. "You seem different. Kind of like how Minamino is." Who was this guy she was talking about? I wonder what she meant by different? I had powers? I wasn't fully human? I was going to ask her further, but I heard voices.

"What's the matt-"

"Shh." I told her holding up my finger. I guess she couldn't hear. "Kitajima!" I heard a voice call out. So someone came looking for her.

Another voice screamed out, "You're dead!" So there were two others besides me and this Maya. "What is the name of the ice maiden you ate?" A third voice?

Their conversation was short. The rough voice seemed to have antagonized the two who seemed rushed and…almost concerned. No more words were exchanged. I could only hear fighting.

"What's going on?" Maya asked getting back up and closer to the bars. It seemed as if she was straining to hear what I could.

"There's people here…they seem to be fighting." I told her. "I can't tell who is winning. But it appears…one of them wants to eat us." I said calmly. I wasn't surprised anymore. After their words were exchanged for fighting, I could sense their energy. It was similar to how mine was when I summoned my weapon and that 'man' who grabbed me. Demons.

I turned to her and saw the look on her face seemed rather queasy. "Eat us? Oh…" She was falling back and I caught her just as she collapsed.

"I guess…that was a bit much for a human." I said to no one as I eased her gently onto the floor of the cage. I turned my attention back to the bars. The fighting had ceased and because I tended to her, I hadn't been concentrating on who exactly won. The more important question was whether or not I should remain here or try to escape.

"Kitajima?" The first voice called out. So he was still alive. I looked at the girl Maya who was unconscious. I suppose it would be rather cruel to leave her here.

"Whoever you are, if you're looking for Maya, she's over here!" I yelled out. "Follow my voice!" I called hoping this wouldn't end badly.

His footsteps seemed to get closer, not only that but someone else was accompanying him. I guess the third voice I had heard, also survived.

From the dim light, I eventually could make out the figure of two males. One had short, bright red hair, and wore a school uniform. Was I wrong about him being a demon? The other male was my height. Tall, black hair, and adorned in a black cape of some sorts, and he seemed to glare at me with his piercing red eyes. "And just who the hell are you?" He asked.

I frowned, but ignored the question for the time being. "Were you just expecting one prisoner?" I pointed to the girl Maya who was still passed out.

"What did you do?" The red-head asked me.

I shook my head. Humans…quick to accuse. Assuming he was human in the first place. I still couldn't pin him. Though, why would he be wearing a uniform otherwise? Maybe he was like me. "I didn't do anything. She passed out when I told her…that thing you were fighting was planning to eat us." I explained.

I summoned my weapon and the two readied their stance to fight me. I slashed at the cage and an opening was made. I recalled my weapon quickly after. "I have no intentions of fighting. I figured you were here for Maya."

"Who are you?" The red-head asked as he went over cautiously to pick up Maya.

"If you could've freed yourself from the beginning, why not do so?" The shorter one had asked. I can almost understand why they mistrusted me, but at the same time, I honestly had nothing to gain if I tried to take on these two at my state.

"I just didn't want to let her out to something she couldn't handle." I explained starting to feel annoyed that I had to defend myself at all. I usually had better patience than this but it must have been the hunger speaking. I could feel my stomach twisting about in protest for some sort of meal. Images started to fade. Great….I was going to pass out again…due to something stupid like lack of food. "What's really interesting…" I started to walk towards them. "A human and a demon working together? Well, now I've seen everything…" and the last thing I saw were the surprised red eyes of the demon before I passed out.

-x-

I remember when I woke up, I was outside of the place I was trapped in. The two mysterious guys were nowhere to be found, and neither was that Maya girl.

I was left to wander at my own free will. Though I started to become more cautious and learned how to make use of my demon tricks. Passing out from hunger was embarrassing. I taught myself how to pickpocket without being detected. I was so good in fact, I thought to myself I could become rich like my grandfather and show him a thing or two.

Of course, that was just a thought. In reality, I tried to avoid stealing. Only did it if I wanted food. I couldn't help myself every once in a while though. Eventually, I had accumulated enough money to get myself a new outfit. I need something light. I decided with my free time, I was going to train myself to fight better. I didn't want to get caught again.

I had gotten black boots, a black hoodie like shirt, and some shorts. Comfortable and easy to maneuver in. It was perfect. I'll admit the colors were much too dark for my taste, but it was the cheapest. Beggars couldn't be choosers. I wasn't going to steal any more money for something that I now considered a luxury. I still kept my uniform though. Call me sentimental.

If I wasn't around the city, I was back at the abandoned area. I trained there as no one could see me, and I secretly hoped I would encounter those two boys again. They didn't seem to like me when we met, but I wanted to thank them. They could've easily killed me or something, but I was still alive.

But, they never came. And I spent time in solitude for who knows how long. I lost track of time, and I grew bored. It wasn't until another demon had stumbled on me that things got interesting.

It had been just a regular day of training. I shot out another ball of electricity at an empty crate. I was starting to run out of them. However, it was paying off. My attack was stronger and becoming more precise. "Shall I reward myself with ice cream today?" I said cheerfully to myself.

"My, my what do we have here?" When I had turned around ready to leave, I was met by an extremely tall and buff man. He wore a green shirt and had short brown hair. You could tell by his eyes something was a little off.

"Can I help you?" I asked. No one ever came here.

"Yeah, I think I just found our decoy for the group." He said picking me up by my hoodie as if I was some rodent. Curse my height.

"Torrential shot!" I yelled out as I fired an electrically charged ball at his face. I smirked knowing there was no way he could've survived, but it quickly disappeared when I saw he was unscathed.

"I've got tough skin you see. Oh yeah you'll definitely make a good addition." He continued to carry me like a rag doll even though I struggled continuously. I was really getting tired of being caught.

He carried me eventually to a forest. I had to applaud him for avoiding people. It would've looked strange to see a tall man carrying a tiny, little girl around by her hood.

"Look what I found! Hiei, Kurama, come out here! Don't know exactly what she is, but she'll make a good distraction for the guards. A good sacrificial decoy." He said in that disgusting gruff voice of his.

"A what?" I screeched now making an actual attempt to escape.

Suddenly two figures jumped out of nowhere and appeared before the large man. Minions? Great…

Quite the contrary though. My eyes widened at who had appeared. "You're…" The two I had met some time ago, were here before me. The jet, black haired guy who was tall as me, and the calm and peaceful red-head whose hair had grown out.

"Goki, let her go." The red-head said.

"What, just because she's a girl?" The giant asked. "She'll be good as bait. Something's fishy about her." He held me close to his face as if to sniff me. Ew…

"What you're referring to is her half-human, half-demon status." The short one, though he was the same height as me, remarked. I looked at him with surprise. How did he know?

"So you're half huh? Even better! If you die, you'll be doing our kind a favor!" Goki laughed out loud. This guy…was just like Eido. I felt angry and it welled up to the surface.

"Shut up." I said.

"Huh? What was that? Speak up girly!" He was now taunting me as she shook me by my hood closer to his ears.

"Shut up!" I yelled. "You think just because you're a full breed of something, it makes you better than me? I can tell you that even though I'm only half, I'm a lot better looking than you, you big, ugly brute!" I wasn't thinking of the repercussions as Goki lifted me by my neck ready to strangle me.

"Goki, drop her." I was on my last breath before he decided to listen and release me. He paid no attention to me as I was gasping for air. Rather he focused on the person who gave the orders.

"What, you're siding with Kurama on this, Hiei?" He asked. So…the red-head was named Kurama and the demon my height was named Hiei. Good to know.

"Heh, I just don't see the point of killing someone who could be of use to us. To call you out, she has guts, even if you deem her a disgrace. She'll be good bait, as you said. But it's useless if you kill her right now." And then in a flash Hiei appeared in front of me with a sword to my neck. "So what will it be? Death or bait?"

I got up watching the sword follow me. It had a pungent smell wafting from it. I could only imagine how many the sword had sliced for it to have such a scent. It was terrifying. "I'll help you." I said calmly, despite my better judgement.

Hiei put his sword away and smirked. "A wise choice."

"You agree to him so easily and insult me? Tch." Goki remarked.

I turned to him knowing he wouldn't attempt to kill me now that I agreed to help them with whatever it was. "I'm not indebted to you." I started as I turned to Hiei and Kurama. "The two of them saved my life, even if it wasn't on purpose. So, I'm willing to do whatever it is they ask. That's all. Nothing more." I was probably also reassuring myself on what I just got myself into.

Even though I had promised my alliance with them, they still said I had to be watched because it was going to be at least a week before they attempted whatever it was they were doing.

That night that I had met Goki and was reunited with Hiei and Kurama, I spent the night in a spare room of Kurama's house.

He offered to wash my old school uniform as well as my new outfit. I was allowed to wash up, and even borrow his human mother's night clothes, even if they were far too big.

When I was ready he showed me to the spare bedroom. I turned around to ask him a question before he left. "Is this really okay? I mean don't you live with others?" I asked.

Kurama shook his head. "My human father passed away when I was young and my human mother is currently at the hospital." He said without much of a change in his expression. He seemed so calm and cool about it.

But. "When you say human mother, you make it sound like…you care for her. Before we left, Goki mentioned you were a demon…in human form?" I said slowly making sure I was recalling the facts right and that it was okay for me to tread into the topic.

"Goki talks too much for my liking." Kurama stated.

I chuckled. "Someone who agrees." I let out another chuckle. As of late, it was so uncommon for me to do so. "But if that's true, that you are a demon in a human form, then it explains why I thought I could relate to you a little when I first saw you. You're still fully a demon though, but when you said human mother…you seemed to care." I climbed into the bed as I said this.

"Do you hate humans? Or was it demons? Our conversation makes it seem like the former and your attitude with Goki from earlier makes it seem like the latter. I'm trying to figure out what it is." Kurama asked me.

"Both." I answered. "My demon mother abandoned me and my human father feared me. Demons like Goki and Eido think I'm a disgrace to their kind. Humans like Megumi and my grandfather believe I'm just a monster that shouldn't be alive." I held my knees up to my face and seemed to grip them tightly.

"But you're still alive." My released loosened and I looked up at Kurama. "You're still alive. That's what matters right? Take that life, and shoot down those who brought you down." He said. "That's what I've done."

I thought about it. He must have had a tough situation as well. Demons and humans seemed to loathe one another, so of course I was to be hated. But Kurama? He seemed nice. Perhaps because he was a demon who sided with humans and didn't seem to mind them, that's why he was like me. He was dealing with both worlds. That's what I thought and true or not, it was a nice thought knowing you had something in common with someone.

I feel like I could trust this Kurama. Yes. I thought and nodded to myself before answering him.

"Perhaps…I'll try that. First, I'll prove Goki wrong by helping you guys out!" I said triumphantly.

"Are you sure you want to do that? Turning your life to crime when your life has been saved, as you so said?" He asked me.

I nodded. "Yes. I owe you and Hiei. I won't let that go unpaid. I'll help, no matter what it is." After talking with Kurama, I felt more confident in my decision to help them out. "Good night…Kurama." And with that I pulled the covers over myself. Sleeping in a bed for once, it was a nice change.

-x-

The next day, Kurama decided to help me train after he got out of school. He said I would most likely need it if I was still sure on planning to help, which I was.

He mostly helped me in refining my moves and using my old gymnast moves into my fighting style and evading. It was helpful.

"It's strange." He told me when we took a break. "You can use both demon energy and spirit energy, but you can't do it simultaneously. It seems you use demon energy to summon that weapon of yours. However when you shoot electricity you switch to spirit energy and your weapon disappears. If that's the case you should learn to be efficient in your moves and choosing when to switch. It would be far too advance for you to learn to use them simultaneously." He got up. "I think today will be enough."

Before he left, Hiei appeared out of nowhere. He was so fast, it almost seemed like he could teleport. "Change of plans, we'll be carrying out the plan tomorrow." Hiei said curtly.

Kurama closed his eyes. "Very well. I need to take care of some things prior. Sakura you know the way to my house correct? You can stay there tonight again as well. Hiei, will keep an eye on you tonight."

"What?" Hiei didn't seem pleased by the idea, but it seemed he had no choice. I'm sure if they left me with Goki, one of us would be dead, and I wasn't going to let it be me.

That night I headed to Kurama's house and the windows were open so I just jumped in. It was eerie and quiet. I didn't know where Hiei was as he had 'warped' so fast once we decided to call it a night. Maybe he had decided against keeping watch over me for the night.

I was fine with that. I wasn't a child that needed constant surveillance.

I was wrong of course. I had heard noises on the roof and I exited through the window and climbed my way to see Hiei resting on top of it.

"What are you doing up here?" I asked.

He opened one eye before shutting it again. "Does it matter?"

I managed to make my way over to him and sat next to him. "I know you're not sleeping. How can you sleep like that? At least go on the couch or something inside?" I suggested.

"You talk too much, you know that?" He said in a bored tone. So, he was one of _those _kinds of people.

Well I was fine with that, because I liked to talk. I had missed out on it a lot when I was trapped in that prison. "Why do you guys need to watch over me?" I asked. "You don't trust me?"

"It's a matter of your human morals. One minute you agree, the next you'll be leaking info to spirit world. Then again, you probably don't know much of spirit world. I suppose Kurama suggested all this to prevent Goki from ripping off that head of yours. Now, be quiet." He said trying to go to sleep again, but I couldn't help but feel that he was faking it.

"I told you already. I'm indebted to you guys. I won't falter on this little alliance. What exactly are we doing tomorrow anyway?" They never really gave me details and I was curious.

"Stealing items and using them to control humans." He said blankly. To others, it would've seemed like a joke. But I could tell he was serious. "If you do well tomorrow, perhaps you'll be kept around after I take over this city."

I thought about it. "Stealing artifacts to destroy human kind…" And then out of nowhere, I burst out laughing.

Between my laughs I could see Hiei eye me as if I had gone crazy, but the situation…the irony of it, was too funny. When I managed to calm down, I tried to explain it to him letting out a few laughs here and there.

"Growing up, stealing was bad, hurting others was bad, and you were bad. You would be the person who's depicted as the bad guy. Imagine that…me associating with the bad guy." I looked at Hiei. "And yet those who were deemed 'good' look at me like I'm a freak and you being 'bad' don't seem to care if I'm of human or demon status. Just if I'm useful."

I looked up at the night sky feeling as if I reached some inner peace. "If I look at it like that, you're not bad at all." I turned to him and smiled. "So I've decided, I like you. You made me laugh." I let out a chuckle. "It's been a while since I've got to laugh like that."

He eyed me as if trying to figure me out, but he gave up quickly as he returned to his 'slumber'. "Like I said, you talk too much. Go to sleep if you want to be of any use tomorrow." I smiled and got up. Hiei was different, but he was okay in my book.

I jumped off of the roof and landed smoothly and headed back inside.

-x-

I looked just around the corner and saw guards. They were right.

When I had woken up this morning, I felt like we weren't in the human world. Kurama explained to me we were in a place called spirit world. I didn't quite get it and didn't really care to. I just wanted to pay off my debt.

There were four guards on the outside. The trio assumed there would be more in the chamber they were planning to enter. My job was to just distract the outer guards. But how exactly…

"Um…hello!" I shouted to them as I stepped into view. Yes Sakura, a greeting would surely suffice.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be here!" One of them shouted at me. He had horns on him but he didn't feel like a demon.

"Yeah? Well I'm not leaving." I said. "Not unless you make me." I dragged my eyelids down and stuck my tongue at them. Then I did what I was used to doing. I ran. They followed.

Not my best idea, but it would work. I ran and they chased after me all the way to a corridor that was a dead end.

"We've got you know!" Another one yelled.

Then right on cue, alarm sounds went off and red lights flashed. "CODE RED!" A voice rang out. "The vault has been breached!"

"Hey we were guarding the vault!" Yelled one of the horned beings.

"Nice problem solving." I announced to remind them I was still here. I jumped up in the air and shot out an electric burst at the floor to give me a boost as I did a flip in the air and landed on the other side. "See you!" I ran off to meet with the others and didn't worry about the guards, because as I left a wall made of vines sprouted blocking them off. I wonder where Kurama found something like that. I was glad he gave it to me though before I did my part.

I met up with them back at the vault to see they had taken out many of the guards who had been inside. "Hey! Get the items yet?" I asked from outside seeing the outlines of Hiei and Kurama.

"Alright, Goki, that's enough." Hiei instructed. Guess the big brute was having too much fun.

"Yes, our time runs short." I could hear Kurama's voice. Before I knew it all three came out and we were escaping for what seemed like our lives.

"What those guards didn't off you?" Goki asked seeing that I had made my way back to the group.

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up and keep moving before we get caught!"

-x-

Eventually we made our way back to the human world. I was catching my breath. That was too much running for me in one day. But…it was almost fun. I had never done something so exhilarating.

I sat down in the clearing and watched as Hiei and Goki seemed to celebrate over the items. Their haul included a pocket mirror, a sword, and some round orb that glowed a bright, green color.

I wasn't sure what was so special about these items, but hey I helped a little. I was content with that.

Goki left to test out his item. He wasn't gone long as he came back just before night fell. They didn't shoo me off and that was okay. I wanted to stick around. After being with a group like this, being alone didn't seem to appealing. Plus, I was curious about the items.

I wonder how long we were in that other world because it seemed only a few hours ago that morning was in the sky. The clearing that we were in was clear and you could see the night sky, while everywhere else was getting drenched in raindrops.

Goki came back and showed off his orb again. In the time he was gone I learned that his artifact was the Orb of Baast, Kurama's was the Forlorn Hope, and Hiei's was the Shadow Sword.

"This is perfect!" Hiei said as he 'warped' around slashing at trees that temporarily turned them into demons before they came to the ground and basically dried up. To think a sword could do that…I was definitely immersed in a whole new world.

"If the sword can make demons from trees, just think of what it'll do to humans?" Hiei asked and the thought made me shudder. I was fine with Hiei and Kurama, but humans turning into demons, well it wasn't a pretty thought. "I say we go to the next big city and carve out a thousand of them. Imagine raising an entire demon army!"

"Something wrong?" Kurama asked me. I shook my head indicating nothing, but I'm sure he could tell I was having second thoughts of choosing to stick around.

"If that's going to scare you, you might as well let us turn you into a full demon." Goki laughed at my reaction to Hiei's statement. I really hated that guy. "Well, I like the way you think Hiei." Kiss up. "If we teach them how to eat souls, I'll even know how we could feed them all. The Orb of Baast!" He laughed even more heartily.

Kurama told me how that was used to capture souls. Apparently Goki had a liking for children's souls. Hiei's artifact was of course bad, but I didn't say anything because I liked Hiei and Kurama. Call me stupid, but I think they accepted me regardless of my status. That was enough for me.

I hated Goki though, so him eating children's souls repulsed me to no end.

"And once the moon becomes full, we can use Kurama's weapon and supposedly get complete control, isn't that right?" Hiei asked Kurama.

Kurama had been sitting off to the side and was very quiet, until Hiei addressed him. "Sorry, I must withdraw from this alliance." Hiei and Goki were taken aback, as was I.

"Kurama?" I asked. You would think it would have been me to drop out first.

"What?" Hiei seemed angered now. "What is that supposed to mean? Surely you're not dropping out of the game when we've come this far!"

"Yes," Kurama stated calmly. How could he do that when he had two angry demons ready to hunt him down.

"You coward!" Hiei yelled. "Your years of hiding yourself in this human world have made you just like them! Spineless and ready to be walked on!" I had to agree with Hiei there. Not about Kurama, but the thing with humans. From what I knew, my grandfather was spineless as they come.

I could argue that Maki and Arisa were good humans…but to them, I died. And they didn't even know I wasn't completely human. What they would've truly thought would always be a mystery.

"I don't give a flip if he leaves," Goki started. "But he's got no right to the loot." He pocketed the orb and held his hand out to Kurama. "Give us the pretty little mirror." So, it just wasn't me that he was condescending too.

"I can't." Reasoned Kurama. "I have great need for it myself first." Kurama explained. I was curious as to what and was going to ask, but Goki was prepping to punch Kurama and I wasn't going to let that happen.

I didn't have to do anything though. A voice interrupted his action. A voice that didn't belong to any of us in the clearing.

"Excuse me neighbors!" A boy about Kurama's age walked into the clearing wearing a green uniform. A human.

We all turned to face him. "Couldn't help but notice there's no rain falling here." I wonder if he knew what he was getting himself into. Then again, I didn't either. "Maybe the next time you guys go stealing some magic toys, you should hide where it's not so obviously sunny." A human knowing about these items? "Just a tip."

"Who are you, and how do you know about the artifacts?" Hiei asked.

"Give us your name." Goki demanded.

The guy threw away that ridiculous tree branch he was holding and proceeded to introduce himself. "Oh thank you, hope you'd ask. Hello boys and girl, the names Yusuke. I'm a spirit detective."

I couldn't help but snicker at such a corny title. Who was this guy? Silly as he is, I couldn't help but admire his cocky attitude a bit.

"Spirit detective?" Goki questioned. Oh good, he didn't know what one was either.

"Don't worry, he's just one of Koenma's fools. He must've been the only human they could round up. His spirit energy is pathetic. Even Sakura over here could beat him easily." Hiei taunted.

"Thanks…I think…" I said.

Despite the noise, Kurama seemed disinterested and started to walk away.

"Hey, where are you going?" Yusuke yelled at him.

"Sorry, I don't have time to be arrested." He simply said and walked off. "Sakura it would be best if you walked out on any dealings with those two any further." And with those last words, Kurama seemed to disappear into the forest.

"Stop Kurama! You can't just walk out on our plan!" Hiei jumped up and disappeared also.

"Hey don't leave yet you guys, I just got here!" Yusuke looked around blankly.

I wasn't going to get caught either, and I certainly wasn't staying with this ugly fool. "Hiei, Kurama wait up!" I yelled. I decided running in the direction Kurama went would be the best idea. "Goki, don't mess this up! You'll just look even more pathetic in my book. And believe me, no one has a lower opinion of you than me right now." And I chased after the two guys before Goki could rattle off on me.

It was strange, I was only supposed to help them temporarily, but I liked tagging along with them. It felt nice being around others I could identify and didn't judge me just because I was half and half. I wasn't going to let an opportunity of being around others like that go.

-x-

A/N: So the three artifacts arc begins! Hope you guys enjoy and continue to read and leave a review for me yeah? Oh and Sakura meeting Hiei and Kurama is based off of the manga. Everything else will be based off of the anime!


	3. Assistance

A Single Flower

-x-

A/N: Today we will be finishing up the spirit detective arc! Hope you guys enjoy!

-x-

"Hiei!" I called out in the forest. "Kurama!" No one answered back. I was alone again. Where did they go?

And at that moment, I wanted to kick myself. What was I thinking? Relying on two demons I had just met. I must've been longing for companionship so bad; I clung onto the first two thieves to come along. I walked around the forest aimlessly.

I was tempted to go back, to see if Goki had lost or not. I hope he had won, because honestly it was a waste working with him if he just went and got himself killed by a human, but at the same time I wanted him to lose. I guess I'm not really a 'team' player.

After a while, I realized I had nowhere to go, so I went back to the forest clearing. When I made my way back, there were no signs of Goki or that human…Yusuke, was it? No one was around.

In a desperate last attempt, I made my way to the only place that I could think of to find any of them.

I arrived at the Minamino residence. Kurama's house. It didn't matter though, there were no lights on; no one was home. I jumped onto the roof hoping to see Hiei, but it was quiet and desolate on the roof as well.

"How to find them…" I thought as I jumped down from the roof. I decided to walk around the city just as I had before I met them. I suppose things were going back to 'normal' now.

I made my way to the city and wandered around being careful to stay close to crowds. It wasn't until a news flash about an epidemic involving children that caught my attention. I watched from the outside and didn't strain to hear among the noisy people because I had developed a sense for hearing with my powers.

"Children from the city have been collapsing and so far a case of three children have been reported. Doctors are baffled and-"

I turned around to the direction of the forest. Even with Hiei and Kurama gone, Goki was out hunting. Like I said before, I had come to respect Hiei and Kurama, even if Hiei was out to control humans and Kurama had betrayed the group. Do I hear myself thinking what I'm thinking here?

I shook my head. Either way, I hated Goki, and I wish I had gotten the Orb of Baast. I would've used it more as a soccer ball or something. If only there was a way to find…oh!

I knew what I had to do to find all three of them. I had to find the spirit detective first.

-x-

I went back to the forest the next day, but it was harder than I thought to locate the spirit detective. I was sure Goki would come back here eventually, but the forest looked different during the day, so I wasn't sure where the original clearing was.

"Man…I've always been so bad with directions." I said to myself looking around. "I think I just came from…" I spun around. "There?"

I was about to head off in that direction until I felt a spike of demon energy in the opposite direction. "Well…my instincts tell me…to go that way." I turned around again and headed to the energy source.

"How about a big wooden stake!" I heard a yell from the direction. I kept running. That was the spirit detective's voice!

Finally, I had found Goki and that Yusuke guy. Although, when I came close, I found out Goki had transformed into a rather grotesque form. He was red skinned with five horns protruding from his forehead and his hair had grown out. I thought he couldn't get any uglier.

I stayed behind the trees. I just wanted to find them. Besides, I wanted to know just what kind of crazy human would go against an ugly brute like that.

Goki had kicked the poor guy aside and was now mercilessly stomping on his back. He didn't stand a chance from where I was standing.

Out of nowhere, a girl with blue hair came from behind and threw something at Goki's back. Was she nuts? I didn't sense any kind of power from her at all. If a human with spirit energy couldn't handle Goki, what made her think she could?

"Forget about her she's nobody!" Yusuke screamed to try and protect her. Goki didn't listen as he jumped all the way in front of her despite her trying to run away. This only caused her to run back to her lying comrade. They were dead.

He walked over and picked up Yusuke's head as if he was some plaything. I had experience with that…

Goki opened his mouth and then…the detective stuck something in his mouth. "What?" I said to myself.

"It's about time! I was waiting for you to open up your big, fat mouth!" Even Goki looked surprised by the turn of events. He was speechless. "Hah! The skin on you whatever monsters may be hard as a rock, but I bet your insides aren't."

I watched as Yusuke seemed to pour energy into his index finger and aimed it right at Goki's gaping mouth. "Monster, meet spirit gun!" A bright blue light shot at Goki and he was completely engulfed in it. After a few seconds…he was knocked out.

Five souls came fluttering out of Goki's body and seemed to go back where they came from. I watched as Yusuke counted each of them. He saved those little kids.

"I nearly lost my head trying to get that artifact back. I'm scared to think…what two more of 'em will take." He said while almost collapsed on the ground.

I started to clap my hands and then walked out into the clearing to reveal myself. "Hmm, Hiei underestimated you detective." I looked over at Goki's body. "That or this loser was just really weak."

Both of them seemed to tense up. "I'm not here to fight you. In fact, I'm here to ask for your help." I explained.

"You were with those guys the night I ambushed you, so forgive me that I can't exactly trust you." Yusuke said struggling to get up.

I let out a sigh. He had a point. I could only try to explain myself again. "I don't want to fight you." I walked over and leapt onto Goki. "Don't you think I would've helped this guy out? Our goals are sort of the same. You're looking for Kurama and Hiei. So am I." I walked over to Yusuke. "The fact that you got rid of Goki, well that's a bonus. I can't stand that guy."

I noticed he had a smirk at my last comment. So he didn't exactly like Goki either, and I don't think it dealt with him almost being killed by the guy. "Why are you looking for those two?" He asked.

"Yusuke! You can't seriously be thinking of helping her?" Yelped the blue haired girl.

Yusuke looked at her and nodded. "What, she can't be bad if she thought that huge rock was annoying." Yusuke then turned to me. "You're just tagging along right? And besides Botan, if she tries to attack us, I can always one-two punch her." He chuckled a little and the girl now known as Botan promptly hit him on the head.

"You can't hit a girl!" She yelled. I could tell their relationship was rather humorous.

"Why not? If she's a fighter, then she's a fighter. That's all I care about. Age, gender, none of that matters…ah-" And then Yusuke staggered from his battle.

I smiled at his reaction. "So…none of that matters huh?" I asked to no one in particular. "Maybe you should say that to me again when you can stand up on your own." I let out a chuckle. What an interesting human.

It seems the encounters I had with others were affecting me. I still loathed humans and demons, but there were some special cases out there it seemed. "Okay, so what are we waiting for? Let's go look for Kurama and Hiei!" I let out an energetic slap on Yusuke's back and he let out a loud groan. "Whoops…sorry." I apologized, but laughed a little.

"Well…I suppose if Yusuke says it'll be okay…" Botan said still a little unsure of me. "Anyway, we should probably head back and get him checked up with those injuries."

Botan tried to help him up again but he declined and grabbed a branch and threw it at me. "Hey make a walking stick out of that won't you?"

I gave him a strange look, but decided to anyway. I summoned my weapon and threw the branch in the air and decided to cut it up quickly as I can. When it landed back on the ground it was a trimmed down stick.

Yusuke grabbed it and used it to prop himself up. "Alright, now I'm good to go."

He, rather sluggishly, led us back to the city and looked almost liked a crippled beggar.

"Hey Yusuke, can't you just admit it'd be easier to lean on my shoulder?" Botan asked.

"Right, can't you admit it'd be embarrassing?" Yusuke shot back.

I shook my head. Boys and their pride. "If you ask me…it's more embarrassing watching him walk around like that."

Out of nowhere a shrill beeping sound went off and I noticed Yusuke look at his watch. It was flashing red and the noise was coming from it. Botan ran up to him. "What's up?"

"Is…one of them here?" I asked joining the two of them. I could see Yusuke's eyes search around fervently. I suppose so.

I tried to follow his eye movements and it worked because eventually my eyes landed on a familiar red-head. Kurama!

I was about to head towards him but in my head his voice could be heard. _Stay there, Sakura_.

I stopped and continued to stand near the detective. Kurama was the one who started walking towards us. Was he going to fight Yusuke right here?

_Don't worry. I have no intention of fighting you, nor do I intend to flee._ Kurama was addressing Yusuke, but I could hear it too. Was this another ability of Kurama's or something that all demons could do? _In fact, I've come to ask you a favor._ He continued to walk past us.

_Are you crazy?_Yusuke asked telepathically.

_Give me three days, after that, I will gladly return to you the Forlorn Hope. And please, for the time being, watch over Sakura._

_I can't…come with you?_ I asked in my head hoping Kurama could hear.

_It's best if you stay with the detective. You should be in less trouble that way. Don't go looking for Hiei either._ With that Kurama walked off.

I stared at Yusuke. "Great so now I'm stuck with you?" He asked me. I gave him a good slap to the head causing him to fall off his stick.

I did as instructed since I really had nowhere else to go. I headed back to Yusuke's place so Botan could properly fix him up. He was being such a baby about it though.

"Ouch! Okay!" He yelled. "Gee, more alcohol and I need a designated driver!" He started to blow on the wound where Botan had applied said alcohol.

"You know this could be a trap, Yusuke. It seems a little too easy." Botan said ignoring Yusuke's pain entirely. "It's no coincidence he asked for three more days. By then the moon will be completely full and the powers of the Forlorn Hope will reach their maximum." She explained. Botan seemed to know an awful lot. She seemed like a very useful partner to Yusuke. "When that happens the mirror will reflect the strongest desire of who looks into and it is said the desire will be granted but the user must give something in return. Only a few people know what that something is. Getting our mirror may be pointless if his wish destroys the earth!" She reasoned it all out quite well.

But…I don't think Kurama would wish for the ends of the earth. Unlike most demons, he seemed to care for humans. At least those he was close to anyway. I suppose he could destroy the earth and leave only himself and those who mattered alive.

"But it sounds like he can do all that by himself right? Why would he go out of his way to meet me?" asked Yusuke.

"That's a tough one." Botan thought about it and turned to me. "I suppose you don't have anything to add Sakura?" At least she was talking to me now.

I shook my head. "I learned much more about the Forlorn Hope simply by having you talk about it. They didn't inform me much. I just tagged along as a decoy." I covered my mouth.

"Yes…we'll have to deal with that later." Botan made note of that to herself. Me and my big mouth. I suppose I couldn't have gotten away scotch free in the first place.

"I don't know. Something tells me I should trust him Botan." Yusuke said ignoring my future problems.

"What in the world are you saying? Let's not forget that his dear old teammate tried to rip you into little bits." That darn Goki giving Kurama a bad name.

"Yeah…but Sakura was on their team and she's tagging along with us now just fine." I gave a little wave to remind Botan I was still in the room. "Plus, when I was walking up they were having some kind of argument." I remember what he was talking about. "And I don't have a clue why, but Kurama told the other two he was leaving. Something in his eyes, looked more sad than evil."

They both turned to me. "So why were they fighting?" Yusuked asked.

I shrugged. "It's like you said. Kurama left and Hiei was upset. Goki was more greedy about the whole situation. I don't know why Kurama left or what he'll be using the Forlorn Hope for."

"I wish I knew more about that guy." Botan stated and I agreed with her. Kurama was rather mysterious now that I thought about it. A guy you could trust…but mysterious nonetheless. A walking contradiction.

"Yusuke, I've made us some dinner!" Yusuke's mother chimed in completely destroying the mood and taking even her own son for a surprise. "Will you be eating with us Botan? There's plenty of food." She offered.

"Oh yes, that'd be lovely. Thank you!" Botan agreed with a nervous smile.

"Will you be joining us as well Sakura?" She turned to ask me.

I pointed to myself out of surprise that the invite was extended to me as well. "Me…too?"

"Well of course!" she said cheerfully.

Yusuke clamored in a fit of rage. "Can't you knock mom? We're in the middle of an important conversation."

Yusuke's mother grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and yelled at him. "Hey, what kind of conversation can't be held around your mother?"

"Well uh…it's not what you think mom!" He didn't know how to get his way out of this.

"What happened to Keiko?" She asked before leaving the room.

Is this how other families acted? Even though my father had at once 'loved' me, I don't remember us ever being this lively. "Who's Keiko?" I asked.

"Oh she's this lovely girl who Yusuke has a bit of a soft spot for and-" Botan was met swiftly by a hit to her head by Yusuke. "What was that for!" She yelled at him.

"For talking too much. Do you want to stay for dinner or not?"

I laughed a little and they both looked at me. "Sorry, I've never seen people act this way before. Anyway, I'm hungry. Thanks for inviting me as well!" I have met some interesting people to say the least.

-x-

The allotted time Kurama gave had passed and Yusuke was going to meet up with Kurama. I was allowed to tag along while Botan was heading off to Spirit World to learn more about Kurama and even to see if she could scope out information on Hiei.

Hiei…I wondered where he had been these past few days.

When Botan summoned her paddle and flew off to Spirit World, I was quite surprised. "That's pretty much the only 'grim-reaper' like thing she can do." Yusuke explained. I walked with him to the hospital as he told about Botan and more about Spirit World.

It was rather fascinating to learn that there was a third world and that Yusuke had come back alive because of it and it's ruler. "I don't understand how a toddler can run an entire place…" I asked. Out of all the things I chose to ask out loud about.

Yusuke shrugged. "Well anyway, here we are. The hospital." Yusuke stood in front of the hospital Kurama had assigned for us to meet at. Well more like them. I don't think he knew I was coming.

He was waiting right at the entrance and approached us once he spotted Yusuke and I. I had a feeling…this hospital was where Kurama's human mother was staying at. "Good, you came." He remarked. "And I see you brought Sakura."

"Had no choice really…" Yusuke said looking at me.

I smiled and waved at Kurama. He shook his head as if he disapproved, but eventually smiled at me. He then took us inside and we made our way upstairs to room 501.

When we entered, I could see a frail looking woman lying on the bed. Frail, but beautiful. The contrast in their hair colors was noticeable though. I wonder if she noticed that Kurama didn't have the same dark jet hair color as hers. Or perhaps his deceased father had that shade…though I doubted it.

"Hey there." She greeted. "It's been such a long time since you brought friends." She said as she tried to get up.

Kurama immediately had an air of worry about him as he lectured his own human mother for taking such actions. "It's alright mother, you don't have to sit up." He was so different around her. He was more open with his emotions and it was all very genuine.

"It's not so bad, I'm feeling well today." She looked at me and smiled. "You brought a girl as well. It's nice to meet you."

I smiled and bowed my head in respect. "Pleased to meet you as well Ms. Minamino. My name is Sakura."

Kurama went and introduced Yusuke, to which she also had a friendly disposition towards. "Shall I peel an apple for you?" Kurama had asked after. He was so doting to her. It was sweet.

"No I'm not hungry."

"Please eat mother. You'll never get well without nutrition." He chastised.

She smiled as if being at the hospital was nothing. "Yes of course, it's just hard to remember all of these things Shuichi."

Me and Yusuke both had a look of confusion on our faces. Shuichi…?

"Well, try hard. I need you to get better quickly." Kurama reminded her and we decided to leave her in peace. As we left, right before the door was closed, seeing his mother like that, sick and alone…it reminded me of my father.

It was an awful feeling…knowing someone you cared about was sick and you were helpless to do anything. Yes, I wonder if Kurama felt the way I once had.

Kurama led us both to the roof of the hospital as the sun was beginning to set. There was silence, until I spoke.

"Kurama…why does your mother call you by Shuichi? Or why do you go by Kurama?" I wasn't sure which one to ask so I asked both.

"Shuichi is the name I have taken in my human form." He said with his back turned to the two of us. "That woman is my mother. Sort of. My father passed away years ago." This was more for Yusuke since I had heard a little of this before. "For fifteen years she brought me up, while I have deceived her."

"Sorry, I'm not following." Yusuke spoke.

Kurama proceeded to go further. "My truest name is Youko. I was a fox. A spirit fox gaining the powers of a demon over the hundreds of years that I lived." Now this was all new to me. "In time, I became bored and passed my time learning the art of breaking codes and seals. Ancient treasures were my favorite sport. But fifteen years ago, I made a careless mistake and was badly injured by a strong pursuer. With the last energy I had, I escaped to the living world and became the child of a proud human family. Knowing that if I could withstand humanity for ten years, my spirit energy would have time to safely recover. Then I would escape without a trace."

"I take it something went wrong." Yusuke asked.

"My mother fell ill. I know it might sound foolish, but I couldn't leave her. Considering what she had done for me." Yusuke and I were shocked. I knew on some level Kurama actually cared for his human mother, but to think it was so much…it was a surprise.

"That's when they appeared. Hiei had tracked me down needing my expertise. And I remembered the powers of the Forlorn Hope." He stated.

"Kurama…you knew Hiei before though didn't you?" I asked referring to when I had first seen them.

Kurama nodded. "Yes, but we parted ways quickly after. You also joined the group Sakura, and I'm sorry you had to become tangled in this mess."

I shook my head. "It's okay…I got meet Hiei, you, and even this guy here." I pointed to Yusuke.

He thought about what I said as he looked at the mirror. "Did you know in some species a child eats its mother? Let me use the Forlorn Hope to save the woman's life, then I'll accept my punishment." He addressed Yusuke.

"But," started Yusuke, "why would a monster do that for a human?" I flinched a little at Yusuke's word choice.

"I don't know." Kurama answered truthfully. I stood there in silence and just listened. "Maybe because I'm guilty. Maybe because I feel like I'm one of those mother-devouring creatures." I could see how Kurama thought that. For a time…I really did feel like I had killed my own father.

He was going to use the Forlorn Hope to save his mother. He would succeed…while I had failed.

"I've caused her great pain. It's hard raising a child who thinks you're inferior." Is that why father was afraid of me? "I feel like I broke her spirit, like in some way I caused her disease."

"Why are you telling us all this?" Yusuke asked.

"Maybe I just needed someone to know," he chuckled. "Besides, I could tell that you would trust me, and Sakura being here…perhaps she understands a little."

He looked at me and Yusuke as the wind rustled through our hairs. I figured if he trusted Yusuke…perhaps I could too.

The door to the roof opened and a nurse emerged looking urgent. "Shuichi, it's your mother!" Kurama rushed off with the nurse and Yusuke and I were left there.

"I'll…be right back." I headed to the door. "Need to use the restroom," I lied.

I had in fact made my way to the restroom. But I wasn't there to use the facilities. But rather to hide my emotions. I knew I could relate to Kurama when I was able to talk to him.

Today I saw the relationship between a human and a demon and their mothers. I who had never known my mother was jealous. If a demon could care for a human in such a way and vice versa, why couldn't my mother care enough to not abandon me? Then I wouldn't have had to lose my father.

The day my father died, I didn't cry. I cried more over the fact when he told me I was half-demon. I cried more when I heard he feared me. But now, I was crying. Did he know? I cared just as much for him, as Kurama or Yusuke did for their parents. I wouldn't have cared if I had known all along. He was still my father…and he was gone.

I cried, until I couldn't anymore. I dried up my eyes and looked at myself in the mirror. I had newfound determination. To care about others...it's inevitable. I had grown up to love my father, despite everything. Because of that, I decided I was going to find my mother. Find her and get the questions I wanted answered and to kill her…or be killed myself.

It might've seemed childish to blame her, but I couldn't help it. If she hadn't been alive, I wouldn't have been either. If she had just killed me herself from the beginning, my father would be alive and happy. Living his years without fear. I had caused that. I understand what Kurama meant for feeling guilty.

If I didn't make him sick, I must've surely made him feel inferior having a half-breed for a daughter. My grandfather would've reveled in seeing my new outlook on myself.

I got up and decided to head to the roof. Yusuke had to deal with demons in his line of work. Surely, he would come across my mother or someone who knew of her. If not, I could ask Kurama him being a demon himself. Yes…I would stick around with one of them.

When I got to the roof, I saw that Kurama and Yusuke were passed out with the mirror in between them. I ran up to the both of them. "Kurama, Yusuke?" I asked.

Kurama woke up and started to slowly get up. "I'm still alive. But what about my mother?" He got up quicker and made his way to the door. "Sakura, watch Yusuke!" And like that he bolted off of the roof.

"Yusuke?" I asked prodding his shoulder. "Come on, Kurama got up. It's your turn now."

"Yusuke?" I heard as Botan had come out of nowhere and landed next to the two of us. "What happened?" She asked me.

I shook my head. "I arrived just moments before you." I answered.

"Yusuke please!" She asked again.

I felt like a miracle had happened when Yusuke started to get up. Both Botan and I had relaxed a little.

"Hey, awesome, I'm still alive!" He said cheerfully. "You know, come to think of it, that didn't make a lot of sense what I just did. The whole point was to stop the 'sad' mom thing, but my mom would've been sad." Yusuke said to us.

"Stupid." Botan could only utter through her tear brimming eyes.

"You are stupid. Both you and Kurama. Just jumping in like that risking your lives." I agreed with Botan. "Oh speaking of, I'm going to check up on the two of them!" I said remembering that Kurama's wish was for his mother's sake.

I left Yusuke and Botan to deal with the second artifact. I made my way back to room 501 and I opened the door to see that Kurama was at his human mother's side. I couldn't help but smile. "So, everything worked out." I decided to head back out and let them have their moment.

I was going to make my way back to the roof, but a voice inside my head stopped me. "Sakura." I stopped and listened intently. "Sakura, head outside of the hospital. You want to be useful don't you?" I knew that voice!

I did as I was told and headed downstairs and out. I looked around fervently until I saw an outline of a figure on top of a tree branch. "Hiei!" I felt a sudden happiness well up in me. He was okay.

I took a step towards him but out of nowhere a demon stepped in. He was big, not nearly as huge as Goki. He was tan-skinned with small horns protruding from his forehead and spikes on his back. "Dinner?" He asked eyeing me.

I was ready to summon my weapon, but in a flash he was sliced in half and I could see it was Hiei who had offed him so quickly. "That's twice now…I've spared your life." He said putting his sword away and looking at me. "I believe that makes you…indebted now."

I looked at him blankly and then let out a laugh and smiled. "If you needed my help, you could've just asked." He seemed annoyed by me laughing at the situation, but it was true.

"Plus, that spirit detective hunts demons while Kurama won't set food in the demon world as long as he has his human mother. Do you think either of them will be of use in finding your mother?" I was taken by surprise and looked at Hiei inquisitively.

"I can find her for you with the help of the Jagan," There was a faint glow coming from the white band Hiei wore around his forehead. "But only if you're willing to be used."

My mother…

I looked at Hiei and nodded. "After all, I _owe_ you right?" I smiled and followed Hiei to wherever it was that we needed to go. I turned around and looked at the hospital setting fading behind me. "Take care…Kurama, Yusuke."

-x-

Hiei didn't inform me much, but as I followed him around, I realized he was quite powerful. He was able to control humans with the Jagan eye he hid under the white headband of his. He was fast and a swordsman, and even had weak demons at his control.

I sat on top of a construction site watching him converse with one of smallest demons I had seen. Hiei seemed quite remarkable and I think someone like that could help me find my mother. Not only that, but I suppose I had grown quite attached to Hiei since the first time we met.

He didn't realize it though, but it meant a lot to me when for once someone looked past my half-breed status. Kurama had his human mother, Yusuke had Botan assisting him, and Hiei? Hiei was by himself. Even if he chose to be, that feeling of isolation…I suppose I just gravitated towards that.

"Keiko Yukimura. Classmate and childhood friend of Yusuke Urameshi." The miniature demon spoke out loud. "She appears to be his closest link."

Hiei turned to me. "You spent some time with him. Is this true?"

To be honest, I didn't know. "There was a Keiko mentioned when I was around." I answered, since that was at least true.

"Perfect. With a little help from her, I'll be quite entertained." He let out a laugh. "Sakura, go back to where Yusuke will be meeting us tonight. I have some things to care of." Once again, Hiei's quick speed made him seem like he had disappeared and I couldn't get a word in otherwise.

"You know he's using you and he'll kill you after." The small demon spoke.

I grabbed him with my hand and gave him a tight squeeze. "You know you shouldn't talk down on others who could easily crush you." I tossed the demon aside and headed back to where Hiei had instructed. I knew perfectly well of what that demon spoke of. I suppose you could call me either bored or foolish for not caring though.

When Hiei had come back, he had a human girl with him. Short brown hair and a blue school uniform. "Is that Keiko?" I asked.

Hiei tossed her aside and nodded. "She was quite easy to sneak up on. Dazed over the detective. Now, get out of the way, our detective will soon be joining us."

I jumped on the boxes and made my way to the railings to watch from the side. How was Yusuke…going to stand a chance against Hiei.

The sun was setting quickly and as Hiei promised, Yusuke did arrive. The doors to the warehouse had opened and Yusuke emerged from them. "Get out here Hiei! I'm going to kick your ass!" He knew how to make an entrance.

A mob of humans came out and approached Yusuke. I listened as Botan explained to Yusuke they were being controlled by Hiei's Jagan eye.

It wasn't long after that that Hiei appeared. The two exchanged words and once Keiko was brought out, Yusuke quickly gave up the two artifacts to Hiei and rushed over to the girl. He certainly did have a soft spot for the girl…he was going to be in for a nasty surprise.

I watched as Yusuke attempted to hit Hiei, but he was too quick. When Yusuke was informed of Keiko's condition…he was not happy.

"Sakura?" I heard my voice and saw Botan noticed me up in the railings. "How can you just watch?" She screamed at me while using her energy to prevent the eye on Keiko from fully opening.

I jumped down and landed next to her. "Hey Botan…" I frowned seeing that she was struggling. I turned and watched Hiei and Yusuke fight. "I have nothing against you or Yusuke…I just owe Hiei." And it seemed only he could help me. "Yusuke has no chance though…" I said to myself.

As I uttered those words out, Yusuke managed to land a clean hit on Hiei. I was surprised…this Yusuke really was something. The two exchanged more words before Hiei warped around. Of course even with that impressive speed, somehow Yusuke still hit him again!

"Still think…he can't…win?" Botan asked me struggling.

"Hmm…tough to say. Both of them are rather cocky." I remarked. In reality after that second hit, I wanted to help Hiei, but he made it clear for me to stay out of the way. Help him yes, but I didn't want to kill Yusuke either.

"Consider this a compliment. I've never transformed for a human." Hiei said after Yusuke shot words at him and he also took off his cloak.

Before my eyes, Hiei had transformed into his demon form. So this is what he looked like as a demon. Green skin with eyes all over his body. He was stronger now, I could tell. Even faster. Within a few moments, he had Yusuke completely restricted by energy rings.

"How about I give you a choice." Hiei made the sword that had dropped out of his hand earlier and make its way back. "I can end your life now, or if you prefer I can make you into a demon. What's that? You want me to choose?" Yusuke was really done for. "Fine!" Hiei yelled as he ran towards the helpless detective ready to make what could possibly be the final blow.

I turned my head away not wanting to know what would happen. I heard nothing. There was no final screams coming from Yusuke. Rather I heard Hiei's voice. "You really have gone insane!"

I opened my eyes and turned back to the fight only to see that Kurama was there with the sword in his stomach. He acted as a shield for Yusuke. "Kurama!" I called out. He swiped blood at Hiei to distract him. Yusuke was free and Kurama had limped his way over to help out Botan.

"Sakura, I advised you to keep away from all this." He said assisting Botan. "You don't listen very well." He chuckled. "Are you really okay…with seeing Hiei's true form like that?" I could tell he didn't mean just physically.

I looked at Hiei and Yusuke continue to fight. "Hiei is…Hiei." That's all I had to say. It really didn't faze me when he had transformed. He was still the same. Ruthless, cunning, but…blunt. I liked that he was blunt. I'll admit it was a stupid trait to side with someone over though, but…there was the fact that someone like him could have found my mother.

I gathered up energy in my hands and held them up to Kurama's wound. "I can't really help with Keiko's situation, but at least I can make the wound on your stomach hurt less. Just a hole huh? You're just as reckless." I said with a chuckle.

As I basically learned how to heal using energy on the spot, I turned to the fight that was still happening. Hiei knocked Yusuke to a wall and when Yusuke got up, it looked like he was running for his life.

Then, just like before when I saw him fight Goki, Yusuke shot a burst of spirit energy out of his index finger. "Spirit gun!" Showy powers, but useless considering it missed Hiei. At least I thought so until Hiei was hit from the back.

"What happened?" Hiei asked. Yes I wanted to know as well.

"Simple I won." Yusuke said with a smirk. That didn't explain anything. Hiei looked behind him and I followed his eyes to see that Yusuke had used the reflection of the Forlorn Hope.

Hiei reverted out of his demon form before passing out. "Hiei!" I ran over to where he was.

"Don't worry, he's just knocked out." Yusuke said taking a breather. "He'll be up and kicking again and you can follow him around behind my back some more." Yusuke smiled at me. Somehow, it seemed like he wasn't actually bitter at all over the whole thing.

"I-" Yusuke didn't let me say anything else as he got up to grab the sword to retrieve the antidote. Yusuke Urameshi huh? I looked at Hiei and smiled relieved that he was okay. "Looks like…I should've sided with the detective." I said quietly and moved him over off to the side. I was glad they were all okay.

I watched as Yusuke gave Keiko the antidote and eventually her third eye disappeared completely. "Goodbye Keiko monster." I wonder how she would feel knowing he called her that.

"She's going to recover." Botan said cheerfully.

"I hope so!" Yusuked turned to Kurama. "Thanks for all the help Kurama. How do you feel?" He asked.

"Sakura helped a little. So, good I guess. I avoided the organs at least." He said it so calmly.

I shook my head in disapproval. "Honestly, who goes and uses their stomach as a shield?" I teased.

"Speaking of…Sakura for assisting Hiei, you'll be getting in trouble you know. Though…you did at one point offer your help to us, so I suppose I could try and get a lighter sentence for you." Botan explained to me. "But, I still can't believe what you did Yusuke. Why didn't you tell me the spirit gun could bounce off of mirrors? When did you learn that?"

Yusuke thought about it but not for long. "Hmm, about ten minutes ago." He said cheerfully.

"What?" Botan and I both exclaimed.

"Hiei was way too fast. I knew he could dodge the spirit gun unless I could shoot him from behind. That's when I spotted the Forlorn Hope in the corner and I thought 'hey, I'll give it a try.'" Yusuke explained casually.

"You weren't certain?" Kurama asked.

Yusuke turned to him and had an idiotic smile about him. "Well one time in science class they bounced light off of a mirror and I thought it might be the same."

"Might?" Botan chastised. "You risked our lives on a might?"

"It was all luck?" I asked incredulously. Hiei had lost out of dumb luck. Unbelievable.

"What exactly would you have done if the spirit gun hadn't bounced off the mirror." Botan asked.

"Get chopped into pieces I guess." Yusuke acted like it was no big deal prompting me and Kurama to both laugh at him.

"All this time we were thinking you were a strategist. Really you're just a lucky fool." Couldn't have said it better Kurama.

We laughed much to Yusuke's demise.

When all was said and done, Botan was left with taking both me and Hiei back to the spirit world where we would be 'tried' I guess you could say. I wonder exactly what punishment would be awaiting me in the spirit world.

-x-

A/N: As you can see Sakura seems to switch sides! How will that help her be closer to Hiei? Find out in the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed and let me know with a review!


	4. Punishment

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: Thanks for the review you guys! Here is the next chapter!

-x-

The first thing they did when we arrived at Spirit World was to put us into the prison areas. Both Hiei and I were in different cells, but they were next to each other. He had still not woken up, and I was considering myself lucky that this was nothing like the one I had been in before.

I had told myself prior to all of this I wasn't planning on getting caught. But…here I was…definitely caught. Why did I decide to help out Kurama and Hiei after they stole the artifacts? Yes, I did owe them, but it was paid once I had helped act out as a decoy.

I closed my eyes and replayed the events that had unfolded in the past week in my head.

I was reminded of a human saying that my father had once told me. The eyes are a window to a person's soul. If that was the case…perhaps it's the look I saw on their eyes that made me reach out to the both of them. I remember I felt like I could trust Kurama. I felt like we could identify with one another. And in a sense…we did. We cared deeply for our human parents and had grown to love them and feel pain for them…feel guilty over them.

That I understood.

But Hiei, Hiei was a different matter. He only used me. So why?

I could hear rusting in the cell next to me and figured Hiei was waking up. "Damn," was the first word I heard him utter.

"You're awake." I stated so he knew I was there.

"Hn, you ended up being punished as well?" I could hear voice carry out into my cell.

I straightened myself up against the wall that separated our cells. "We're being put here temporarily until they decide our punishment. This is just a dim waiting room." I explained to him what they told me while he had been out. "So…how do you feel?" I asked even though I knew he wasn't a person for small talk.

"Does it matter?" He shot back. I could hear his voice clearer. It's as if he too had sat near the wall.

"Are you angry? That the spirit detective beat you?" I asked. I was curious. Yusuke won on pure dumb luck, but I didn't think that would've been enough to defeat Hiei.

"It's in the past." He answered curtly.

I closed my eyes and thought about when I first met Hiei. He was curt in the same fashion. I believed he was okay though. He seemed to work with Kurama just fine. So what was it that I could identify with so easily?

I remembered his bright, red eyes. I had seen his eyes before. My thoughts flashed to when I had looked at myself when I was locked in my room. Eyes that tried to hide loneliness, pain, and abandonment. Those were what my maroon eyes had looked like when father died, when I was locked away and had witnessed my 'funeral' prior.

I saw that in Hiei. I opened my eyes and I understood now why I gravitated towards him. I don't know if he was actually lonely, hurt or was even abandoned, it was just a hunch based off of my own experience. It's because of that hunch that I wanted to get to know him, follow him, and be around him. It was an awful feeling, I know. I wouldn't wish that upon anyone else, even if I were to be accepted by everyone around me.

_Hiei…_ I decided to try to communicate telepathically with him. _Do you ever feel…lonely?_

_What kind of stupid question is that?_ It worked! Perhaps it was a demon trait. That or I was very fast at learning demon skills.

_I realize…I hate being alone. I imagine others must not like it too much. But you…you seem the type to like being alone. I just wonder if it's out of choice or something else. I must sound nosy._ I chuckled a little.

_You are._ He bluntly communicated back.

_I'm sorry. Just know…you don't have to be alone. I told you before, I like you. You don't care if I'm human or demon. You only were concerned with how useful I am. I don't think I am, but I know…that I can be by your side if you let me. You don't have to be alone anymore._ I don't know why I felt so compelled to reach out to him. It's like I wanted to be his friend more than anything. _You don't have to be alone anymore. I'll be here._

"You really do talk too much." He said out loud, but I could tell he was smirking.

I smiled. In a sense Hiei had used me, but I was using him in a way. When I was around him, I felt less lonely. Even less than I did in the company of Kurama, Yusuke and Botan. Perhaps it was the effects of putting two lonely people together.

"Well, I have to talk for the both of us." I laughed. "You say so very few words." I laughed again, but it was cut short by a guard who had entered the cell.

He unlocked it both of us and instructed us to follow him as Koenma was finally going to address our punishments.

We made our way to a very large office room and the only thing in the middle was a desk and behind that desk sat a toddler on a chair. "Yusuke was right…" I murmured to myself remembering how he had described the prince of Spirit World.

"Welcome." Koenma greeted. "I trust you know why you're here?"

Hiei turned away obviously not caring what his punishment was going to be. "Hiei, surprisingly you've managed to stay under our radar, but I'm afraid this stunt is going to cost you. You even dragged Sakura, who has no crime records thus far, into this whole mess."

"Drag? Please, it was more like babysitting." Hiei scoffed. Ouch.

"Actually…I volunteered to help, Koenma sir." Perhaps formalities would lighten my punishment. "I owed them you see." I explained.

"Yes, Botan has informed me of that and we have taken that into consideration. So far, we don't have a finite punishment set for you both, but we have come up with some precautions to keep you two busy and prevent from further obstruction to man-kind." This was going to be bad…huh?

"The two of you will be restricted to these boundaries you see behind you." I turned around to see a golden egg-shaped monitor and on it was a layout of a section of the human world. Three cities were shown with a red border around it. Okay, so it was like being on house arrest.

"To add on to that," He continued. "Sakura, because Yusuke has been set off on a mission and is not here to perform his spirit detective duties, you will take his place for the time being."

I pointed to myself. "M-Me?"

Koenma nodded. "Perhaps assisting humans will change your bleak outlook on them." Oh, that was the reason. "As for Hiei, you shall continue to do your job of what you call 'babysitting'. You are to act as Sakura's guardian until further notice."

I could see Hiei twitch. I really wanted to apologize now that I knew he was thinking of being around me as a menial job. "Is that all?" He asked and Koenma nodded, releasing the both of us.

On the way out I was given a paper with my first assignment as temporary spirit detective. I had wondered what kind of mission Yusuke was on that forced him to take a leave of absence. When we arrived at the human world, Hiei warped onto a nearby tree branch.

"I hope you realize, I could care less about Koenma's instructions, and I won't be keeping a constant eye on you. I don't care about tagging along for stupid missions that require me to aid humans." He remarked.

"Wait, you're leaving? What if something bad happens?" I asked. Yes I could summon a weapon, but if Yusuke had to deal with missions against Hiei and Kurama, what was I going to deal with?

"Tch, the missions you're assigned are probably designed as if a beast were to go fetch an item. I doubt you need instruction in that. If you're that desperate for help, than whistle or something. If I'm bored, perhaps I'll show up." He warped off again. Ooh…that Hiei!

"I don't even know how to whistle!" I yelled out into the distance to probably nothing since Hiei had disappeared so fast. To think, I wanted to be friends with him. I let out a sigh and looked at the paper. "First task is to inspect the increase of demons spotted in Ayanagi City." My eyes widened. That was…where I once lived.

I realized I would have to tread carefully in that city. After all, I was supposed to be dead. I also really had no choice as this was part of my punishment as well.

I made my way back to Ayanagi city and I had prepared a disguise for myself. I simply put my hood up and wore sunglasses. I must've looked quite strange and suspicious but the point was to not be recognized.

It was strange hiding from a place I would often frequent with friends after school or my father when we were both free of work. Since school was still in session, I wouldn't have to worry about running into Maki or Arisa. I wonder if they were well.

Instead of doing my mission, I ended up going by the old academy to see if I could spot either of them. I just wanted to see if they were okay…

"My, my, my. Have you ditched school as well little one?" Not too far from the school gates, were three girls all dressed up in the uniform of my academy.

"Don't be silly, Senna." Addressed the girl to the right. She had bright blonde hair. A yankee? Her mouth was covered by a mask. The one she had addressed as Senna had long brown hair tied up in a ponytail. The third one on the other side of Senna had short black hair and piercing ice blue eyes. The way they flanked the brunette, Senna, she had to be the leader. "How can someone who is dead still be going to school?"

My eyes widened. How did they know me? Before I could ask, the three disappeared and I felt a hit to the back of my head, and I was out cold. Damn.

-x-

I don't know how long I was out for but when I woke up I noticed my surroundings looked awfully familiar. "I knew you would return." A voice cackled. And that was an all too familiar voice.

I was back in my room. I was back at my grandfather's mansion. He was back in my life. This had to be a nightmare.

"As if you could escape for long. Don't you remember what I said? You're not wanted by society." He remarked. "You notice…there aren't any talismans in your room anymore. Once you escaped, I knew that wasn't enough to lock a monstrosity like you. So I hired more demons to search for you. Only the idiots return, and I was right. If you escape again, this time you'll be hunted by those whose blood flows through yours. Do you think you can handle that? It doesn't seem like it, but there's a bunch of demons lurking around the grounds. You won't survive the moment you set foot out of this room." He laughed again and headed off. "It won't be known that I'm related to something like you."

"Why you!" I ran towards him but two girls stepped in front of him. They were the ones I had seen at my school. They both sent out shots of energy at me and when it hit, it hurt like hell.

"Heh, told you. You can't harm me." I was on the floor trying to recover from the hits of those two demons he had hired. This had to be some kind of nightmare. The two female demons moved away from the door and I slowly got up. "You stay here until you die. Creatures like you are meant to be alone."

What if this was my actual punishment? Filling in for Yusuke was just an excuse to get me back here. Stupid Hiei, he should've come with me. I bet he would've taken out those stupid demons easily before they got to me.

I tried to blow air out of my mouth to make a whistling sound but it just came out as sputters. I didn't think it'd work, but what else could I do? "Look, she's completely lost it." One of the demon girls pointed to me as they heard the sounds I was trying to make. "That or it's her human stupidity kicking in. When can we kill her?" She asked.

"You heard our orders. We don't attack unless she takes a step out of this room. She's gotta eventually. She's half human. She needs things we would never have to get." They scoffed and left the room.

I sat in my room isolated again. I was always quiet. The only noise was the conversations of the demons that guarded my door trying to provoke me to come outside.

I believe it had been at least two weeks since I was caught. I was weary, but I knew if I tried to leave I would be killed. I couldn't die. Not here. I refused, absolutely refused, to die out of hatred. On several occasions, I provoked them by shooting bursts of electricity at them. They were angry, but could not touch me. After all, I hadn't left.

I was tired though. At least the first time I was locked in my room, they had someone bring me food. This time? No mercy.

During my time being captured, I did learn a new trick with my powers. I could send small surges of electricity. Not enough to do damage like my torrential shot, but it could paralyze others. I had attempted it on those demons that walked past my window. They lasted about twenty minutes without moving. I wondered…if I could recover my energy enough to be able to use it on all the demons in the surroundings?

If only I could eat something though. I was starving. Twenty minutes was enough to get to the kitchen, right?

I had to remember to be fast. They would be paralyzed, but they could still see me if I escaped.

I opened the door and sent out small static electricity out of both my hands to paralyze them immediately. I used the remainder of my energy to move at high speeds and made my way to the kitchen. The staff was also paralyzed as I grabbed some quick food and made my way back into the room with record timing.

I ate quickly and then went back to acting like a dejected person. When the demons outside had recovered, they opened the door to check up on me and saw I was still there. They obviously knew something was up, but as long as I remained here, they couldn't lay a hand on me.

I let out a sigh of relief. If I could keep doing this over the next few days, I would gain enough energy to paralyze those that surrounded the mansion and escape again.

Over the next few days, slowly but surely, I could feel my energy come back to me. It was now becoming a challenge to act like I was weak.

I needed a good night's rest because in the morning grandfather would be off on a business trip, and I would begin my escape from this place.

-x-

When morning came, I got up and stretched. "Okay, Sakura be prepared and sharp-minded." I looked around my room to see if there was anything that was ever in here that I could take with me and be of use. I couldn't help but hum a little tune as I did. It made me not notice my door being opened.

"Someone seems happy." I looked over at the entrance to see two demons, Senna and one of her side lackeys from my first day in front of me.

"What do you want?" I asked. "I haven't stepped out." I lied to them. They had no proof.

Senna held out her finger and shook it. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're lyingggg." She stretched out the syllables of the word. The third demon I saw came in with a tv and a cassette. They popped it in and in a few seconds a video was playing. At first it was just them standing guard in front of my room. "You really are a tricky little thing." She remarked. She pressed a button that proceeded to slow the footage. Right there, I was on the screen moving slowly. "It's a good thing, your human grandfather set up surveillance. We've wanted to off you for a while." She looked at her two underlings.

"Do what you want with her. But, remember, I get the kill." She smiled menacingly at me while the two jumped at me.

I tried to dodge by bouncing off of the walls, but this was nothing like when I had both Eido and Megumi come after me. The room was small, and they were both overpowering me together like that. They both landed solid hits that sent me smashing to the wall.

I could hear footsteps approaching. I really was going to die this time. I could've summoned my weapon. That probably would've helped me more. But I didn't do that. I didn't think. My instant reflex was to inhale really sharply and a loud whistle screeched through the air. I suppose I had used my energy to generate the sound.

I looked up to see Senna who was the one making her way towards me covered her ears in pain. "What the hell was that? Last words? Shrills? Pathetic." She began to gather energy and aimed right at me. "Good riddance half-breed. After you die, we get our payment and can go back to more important matters than deal with the likes of you."

I closed my eyes. Why did I have to be so weak? I waited for my final few seconds of being alive. Seconds, became minutes. Nothing happened.

I opened one eyelid to find she had collapsed in front of me. Her underlings who were right behind her had also been knocked out.

I scrunched my back up against the wall as if I could dig myself further in. "They're not dead, if that's what you're concerned about." A familiar, curtly voice could be heard in the room.

I looked up and my eyes widened in shock. It was Hiei, and Kurama was there as well! "Sorry Sakura." Kurama started. "It seems your grandfather hired quite a slew of weaklings to guard the outside. We would've arrived here sooner had it not been for them impeding our movements."

Hiei turned his head to the side. "Don't be stupid. It was that fool Koenma's fault. If he wasn't so busy recovering from his rump injury, he would've noticed that she had gone missing and not reported in her duties." Hiei casually remarked.

"Yes…but it's because we stole the artifacts in the first place that he had to be severely punished as well." Kurama remarked with a sweatdrop.

I looked at the two of them standing before me. Tears started to brim at my eyes. They both had come for me. Hiei noticed and narrowed his eyes at me. "Well, are you going to remain here, or are you going to get up."

"You…you jerk!" I got up and ran and automatically hugged him. "Next time you tell me to whistle at least teach me how before you go running off! Or at least pass the duties onto Kurama." I said pounding my fists at his shoulders.

Hiei tried to shove me off, but I held on tightly continuing to wail. He eventually did though. "Your human side is starting to show. I was just doing my job." I looked at him inquisitively. He smirked a little. "You know…being your babysitter and all."

I smiled at Hiei and turned to Kurama. "What are you doing here?" I asked. It was only Hiei who was assigned as a guardian.

"Well…Koenma advised me to come along to make sure Hiei didn't kill anyone." I smiled at Kurama as well.

"Looks like…I owe the both of you again." I said.

"Just don't go getting caught again." Hiei said cleaning the insides of his ears out it seemed. "Your whistling is a most irritating noise."

As if everything was normal, the three of us walked out of the mansion and returned back to Spirit World to report to Koenma. I'm sure my grandfather would be in for a nasty surprise when he got back and saw that I had escaped, yet again. This time with the help of friends.

He was wrong. I wasn't meant to be alone.

Koenma apologized to me and thanked Hiei and Kurama for retrieving me. I took his apology as a chance to ask for a favor even though I was the one who was supposedly being punished.

"Koenma, sir. I was wondering…since I was left alone so long…if you could find anything about my demon side. I'm curious to know." I requested.

"Hmm…" Koenma sat in his chair and thought about it. "Well, we'll see how the rest of your job goes and I'll let you know if we can find anything. You'll be at this a bit longer. Yusuke is going to be away for a couple of months training from a new mentor."

He then dismissed the three of us and we returned to the human world together.

"I suppose we'll have to accompany Sakura now until Yusuke is back." Kurama said as we walked down the streets.

"Or train her so we don't have to come to the rescue each time." Hiei commented nonchalantly. He always just had to act so cool.

"I think…it would be better if you trained me." I said agreeing with Hiei. As much as I appreciated them, I couldn't keep burdening them like this. "But!" I took a step forward and turned around to face them. "Let's go get something to eat first!" I said energetically.

Hiei's eyes narrowed. "Maybe she wasn't suffering too badly before. She seems to have forgotten all of that for her human appetite."

I let out a laugh. "It's just nice…to be with friends!" I said with a huge smile. I ran for it before Hiei could make some remark rejecting the idea entirely. "Come on! The faster we get food, the faster we can begin my training!"

-x-

A/N: So this was a chapter to help build up Sakura's relationship with Hiei! Hope you guys enjoyed! Next few chapters will revolve around the Saint Beasts! Leave a review as they inspire to update fast! Bye! Oh, and a friend of mine pointed out the whistling thing remind her of Final Fantasy X! I hadn't thought of that at all! I was actually relating it to one of Hiei's character image songs called 'I hear a whistle'


	5. Burden

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: Thanks for the review you guys! Here is the next chapter!

-x-

"Good," Kurama complimented me as I finished a move set. "You've greatly improved in such little time." He got up from where he sat to indicate training was over.

I stopped and dismissed my weapon. I wiped away the sweat on my brow and smiled at his comment. "I do have some pretty good teachers. You and Hiei have helped out a lot. My last few cases have been rather easy." I walked over and picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I followed Kurama as we made our way back into the city.

"Well, Yusuke should be coming back soon from his training soon. I would assume it means he'll be taking over these cases once again." Kurama reminded me.

I had forgotten that the end of the six months was coming up. So much had happened during the small time frame, it seemed ages ago. It was rather exciting to think of what was to come ahead now that I would have time to do my own things with Yusuke back on as the detective.

Not only that, but during my time as temporary spirit detective, I did fairly well in each assignment. Surely that'd be warrant for some kind of information about myself. I figured that is what Koenma wanted to discuss when he said he wanted to summon me, Hiei and Kurama at the end of the day.

When we arrived at Spirit World, Hiei was already there waiting for us at the entrance. "Hello, Hiei!" I greeted him happily.

"Cheerful as always." He replied back. I had learned after a couple of weeks that that was just Hiei's way of returning the greeting. Or at least I hoped so. "I trust you've gotten better since I last trained you." He asked seeing I had come with Kurama.

I nodded. "I'd like to think so!" I noticed Hiei rolled his eyes at my enthusiasm, but I ignored his usual pessimism. I was hopeful for today. Maybe I would finally know more about myself.

"Shall we head in?" Kurama suggested and with that the three of us entered Koenma's office. Koenma sat at his desk working away on paperwork. I was used to that sight every time I came in and reported my missions.

"Koenma, sir, your golden trio are here to see you." Remarked a blue skinned ogre. He seemed to hang around Koenma more lately whenever I visited. George was his name. Most of the time, when I saw him, he was getting smacked by Koenma. Made me feel awfully sorry for him.

Eventually, Koenma looked up and saw the three of us waiting. "Ah, finally! Keep someone waiting why don't you?" He urgently yelled before pointing to his television screen for us to direct our attentions to. "This is urgent, and we're going to need everyone's help in this!"

On the screen, I could see Botan talking to Yusuke. "Botan is with Yusuke at the moment informing him of what's going on. Earlier today, we received a letter from the Four Saint Beasts." Koenma started.

"The Four Saint Beasts?" Kurama seemed surprised. I wondered if they were a notorious group by Kurama's reaction. Often when Koenma told me of others, he always mentioned they were beginning to make a name for themselves, but I didn't know anything about them. In a way I felt a little left out. Especially when Hiei asked what the likes of them wanted with the Spirit World.

"Immediate migration to the living world. They have a very important item called the Makai whistle to implement them with this request. They plan to use it to control those over in the Human World." Koenma had a grave look on his face. "Rather than meeting their request, we're sending Yusuke to destroy the whistle. He'll be needing help of course, and that's where you two come in." Koenma stated.

"Excuse me, I think you meant three." I remarked hearing that Koenma miscounted. That or I was just being overlooked because I was a girl.

"I know what I said!" Right, I forgot. Koenma always had to be right. "Sakura, you will be staying in the human world assisting Botan." I grumbled. I could handle these beasts or whatever they were.

"No you cannot." Hiei said. I shot a glare at Hiei. I hated when he read my thoughts randomly! "Wreaking havoc on the human world, why would I care to prevent them from doing what they please?" He said turning his attention back to Koenma.

"Hiei!" Kurama chastised.

Koenma sat back. "As expected. We've finally reviewed over the punishment and by helping Yusuke out with this task, the three of you will have your slates clear and clean. Also, Sakura, if things go well, we can also provide you information on your other blood." Koenma had a glint in his eyes as if he had played his trump card. That he did.

My eyes widened. "So, you found something?" I asked taking a step towards his desk.

Koenma nodded. "But this will only be given out if you can end this mission successfully." He scanned all of us waiting to hear our replies.

I looked at Hiei and Kurama and I tried to give off a pleading look to the two of them.

"Well it would be nice to have a clean slate again." Kurama remarked. It was both of us who eyed Hiei now. He had an annoyed look even with closed eyes and turned around heading out the door with a grumble. "Are you two coming? Or do I need to change my mind?"

I could hear Koenma let out a sigh of relaxation that his bribery worked. I smiled and caught up with Hiei. I walked alongside him feeling lighthearted and hopeful again. _Thank you._ I communicated to him telepathically. _Hn_. The only thought I heard from Hiei, but it sufficed.

The three of us were led to a room with two different gates. They escorted Kurama and Hiei to one and me to another. I was going back to the human world while they were off to face these four Saint Beasts.

Before I entered my gate, I turned to them, and I couldn't help but feel worried. I didn't like to be apart from them. "Come back safely! Okay?" I told them as I watched them headed off. Please come back safely you guys.

_You worry too much._ I heard Hiei's thoughts and the last I saw was his smirk as both him and Kurama jumped into their portal. I let out a sigh and stepped into mine.

I made my way back to the human world and I ended up in an abandoned area in front of a door. The door opened and a familiar blue-haired grim reaper emerged.

"Ahh!" Botan screamed at the sight of me and fell over.

I smiled at her and held out my hand to help her up. "Nice to see you again, Botan." I said cheerfully. "Guess, who's here to help?" She took my hand and used it to pull herself up.

"Sakura, you surprised me!" She walked me away from the room. "Though it is awfully nice of Koenma to send someone out to help me. Did he inform you of the mission?" She asked.

I nodded my head. "Briefly. A nasty quartet has threatened the safety of the human world right? And basically Yusuke has come back to save the day, but Hiei and Kurama were on their way to help out and here I am." I quickly summarized what I knew and then realized how little it was once it was spoken.

Botan chuckled. "I suppose that will do. The leader of the Saint Beasts has a weapon known as a makai whistle. He's using it to control these insects that burrow into a human's mind and controls them. Right now our job is to control the infestation while the boys are off to get the whistle. Yusuke was sent off just a little while ago. I was worried about him and Kuwabara, but since you told me Kurama and Hiei will be joining them…things should be okay." She seemed to be mulling over the idea.

"Who's Kuwabara?" I asked never once hearing that name.

"A human friend of Yusuke's. He has high spiritual awareness and a lot more responsible than Yusuke, that's for sure." Botan said nodding her head.

It was hard to believe of another human who had powers like Yusuke, so I was a little interested in meeting this Kuwabara. But for now, I had to concentrate on the task at hand.

A green insect with wings and red spots flew by my face. I held out my hand and let out a small electrical wave out that killed it on spot. "I'm guessing these are the insects infecting the living?" I said holding out my hand as the insect fell from the air and into my hands.

Botan looked at it and nodded. "Bingo, that's what makai insects look like." I scrunched my face as the insect started to vanish. "I hate insects." I said as I dropped my hand to my sides.

I heard footsteps and looked around to see a small group of humans who looked dazed and confused. "And, I'm guessing those are the infected?" I asked her as I gave a disgusted look at one who was drooling at the mouth.

"Double bingo." She said as she held out a bat.

I smiled. "Alright, let's kick some possessed butt!" I cheered and was going to run up to them and land a solid hit. That is, until Botan stopped me.

"Wait! Sakura! We can't just beat the living daylights out of them!" I stopped midway and nearly fell.

"Why not?" I yelled back at her. "You have a bat!" I pointed out. Those hurt pretty bad from what I remembered of softball back in my junior high days.

"A blunt force to the head will suffice. You've been working with demons lately, and you have to remember to control your strength!" I grumbled. She had a point.

"Fine." I got back up and held out my hand and felt my spirit energy travel through me. It was light and had a tingling feeling about it as it made its way out of my palm as tiny streaks of white light. "Spark Wave!" I didn't want to go overboard so instead of hitting them, I sent out electrical waves to paralyze them. "That better?" I asked as they had stopped moving once the attack made contact with their skin.

"Nice, when did you learn to do that?" She asked me.

"While I was trapped in prison." I said nonchalantly. Not spirit world prison, but one still the same. "On demons it would last twenty minutes. However, because they're humans with no spirit power, I'd say give it a good forty minutes. We can move on right?" I asked. "If they're stopped in their tracks, they can't infect others."

Botan hugged me and cheerfully praised me. "That's wonderful! At this rate, holding down the fort here should be easy. Why don't we split up?" She held up her bat. "I can knock any that try to come up and that'll release the insects." She pulled out of practically nowhere a spray can. "Then I'll just spray those nasty buggers and problem solved. Meanwhile you'll be patrolling the city paralyzing them and we can cover much more ground this way!"

I nodded. "Sounds good!"

The two of us separated for a while and it was rather easy to subdue the humans who were controlled. Spark wave, after spark wave was used and I grew tired. After an hour, I decided to relocate Botan and see if she was doing okay.

"Botan!" I called out after finding her knocking out another civilian. I walked up to see he was completely out of it. "See you're doing okay." I poked at the guy and noticed an insect come out. I quickly killed it.

"Yes, though probably not as well as you. You've probably covered a lot more range than I have." She remarked.

"Well, as fun as this is, I hope everything is okay for everyone in the City of Ghosts and Apparitions." I remarked.

Botan smiled and pulled out what looked like a compact mirror. "Shall we find out?" She opened the little thing and pushed buttons and I could hear a ringing sound. There was no sound but I assumed someone had picked up.

"Hello Yusuke! It's Botan in the living world. You copy?" She spoke into the mirror.

"Yeah-" It was Yusuke's voice.

I proceeded to grab the mirror from Botan. "Sakura!" She yelled at me.

"I just want to say hi to Hiei and Kurama for a second." I said successfully prying it out of her hands. "Yusuke is- Ahh!" I was surprised by the face that was on the mirror as it was clearly not Yusuke, Hiei, or Kurama. Instead I was met with a long, gaunt-like face and bright orange hair topping his head. He also wore the creepiest expression ever.

"Hey, what up Botan! This is the brave Kuwabara at your service." He then looked at me and my surprised expression no doubt. "You're not Botan! Oh, are you a friend of hers? You're pretty cute too! Why-" Yusuke somehow got the mirror back from this Kuwabara and proceeded to beat him as I watched.

"Get him Yusuke!" I shouted. I felt very annoyed that a guy like him called me cute when he had no idea what I was like.

"Sakura, put Botan back on." Yusuke said once he took care of Kuwabara. I nodded and reluctantly gave it back.

"I've got things under control here as well, more or less." Botan remarked once she was speaking with Yusuke again. "Makai insects only like to burrow in depressed people's minds. That narrows down our search a bit. I also found another spy from the Saint Beasts. I just can't figure out how they got past the barrier. See, I think they're demons from outside the city taking orders from along the wall." She explained.

I sensed the guy she had knocked out get back up and hearing from Botan that he was clearly a demon, I shot out a spark wave from the back of my palm and paralyzed him. I raised a quick fist into the air and felt myself hit his face. He was out cold again and my attention went back to the mirror.

"Don't worry, those guys are weaklings and Sakura and I make a pretty good team." She smiled cheerfully, totally unfazed that we were almost attacked from behind. "The real challenge is finding those makai insects. I've only caught fifteen of those buggers and I've been searching for nearly an entire day."

"Don't worry baby-" Kuwabara was quickly hit by Yusuke and I was glad. "Fifteen! That's not much help!" Yusuke shouted.

The guy tried to stagger back but was hit by Botan's bat again. "Yusuke fighting people controlled by the insects takes time! Sakura can't even really land a decent hit without a cause for concern on the human's well-being."

"I'm not going to kill them." I remarked with a roll of my eyes. "Yusuke!" I looked into the mirror. "Don't give Hiei and Kurama problems okay? Tell them I said hi!" I quickly yelled as Botan closed the mirror.

"Shall we get going?" Botan asked after she quickly killed another makai insect.

I sighed. "I suppose." At this rate I didn't have a choice.

Botan hopped over the body and looked at me. "You sound very energetic."

I chuckled. "Sorry, dealing with insects isn't really my thing. I'd much rather have gone off with the boys to help. I may not be as strong as them, but surely I could do something."

Botan placed a hand over my shoulder. "You're worried over Hiei and Kurama right?" I looked up surprised that she knew and nodded. "Don't worry, they're tough. Besides, Yusuke isn't one to let down his friends."

Friends. I thought about it and Yusuke was that kind of person. I nodded. "Right, I've got to trust him. After all…he's my friend." The words sounded right and I went with it. "That Kuwabara though, he's a completely different matter."

Botan chuckled nervously. "You'll get used to him."

We thought the situation was good enough that we could stick around together. Within an hour we quickly found out we were wrong. Insects started to show up more and around popular human dwellings. After we killed a batch, Botan pulled out the communication mirror and called Yusuke again.

"Yusuke! You've got to hurry!" She immediately instructed him. She quickly killed three more makai insects with her bug spray while I shocked a couple of them myself. "Listen Yusuke. I think the Saint Beasts have launched another wave of insects. We found a batch by an elementary school." I looked through the windows to see the little kids harmlessly learning away. It would've been sad to see them affected by this madness.

I listened intently as Botan explained to Yusuke why children could be affected by the makai insects even though they weren't depressed. Because of that, a controlled human snuck up on us and we had to run for it. I was getting tired of shooting out spark waves and my spirit energy was running low. "Sorry Yusuke! We're being chased now!" She explained as we both ran away from this guy. I felt pathetic.

We ran into an abandoned room after turning the corner into an alley. "I've knocked out all the other victims by sneaking up on them. Sakura is running low on spirit energy so she can't keep paralyzing them."

A fist punched its way through the wooden door. The only way to stop him was my torrential shot, but I didn't know if I had enough energy or restraint not to shock him to death.

"Can't you call for help or something?" Yusuke shouted at us. Botan and I made it the other side of the room.

"Just let me give him a good kick!" I shouted at Botan.

"Absolutely not! Even if you're low on power, you still have a considerable amount of strength that could affect the human body!" Botan yelled.

The man smashed his way through the door and grabbed Botan. She quickly grabbed her bug spray and sprayed it at him, causing him to be clearly in pain. She then proceeded to beat him with her bat and he was out cold. "Yes and losing a few brain cells is okay." I said sighing in relief. That was really too close for comfort.

The communication mirror was buzzed out and eventually reconnected with Yusuke's. "Oh wow, you got him!" Yusuke's voice rang throughout the entire room.

I sat by Botan making sure she was okay. "Well I'm not making a career out of this!" Botan remarked. "You go and destroy that whistle before we have to fight this entire city!" Botan and Yusuke hung up.

I looked at her and she nodded as she got up to indicate she was okay. She grabbed the mirror off the floor and made another call. "I'm going to request for Koenma to allow you access to where the boys are. Your spirit energy is all used up and if you use your demon energy it could have repercussions on the humans. You should aide the boys in any way possible. I'll hold down the fort here."

"Are you sure? What if you get attacked again?" I asked looking at the human who had tried to go after us.

"I'll stick around a little longer before I pull out as well. It's going to get dangerous real fast if they can't hurry up." Botan quickly conversed with Koenma once he picked up and gave her suggestion. We sat in the room and waited for a portal to be set up.

"They need to pinpoint the boy's locations before being able to set up an opening within the castle." Botan briefed me. "Once you enter, it'll be a quick trip and you should meet up with them quickly. I'll leave this place and try to get rid of some more makai insects and find out more on the situation with the humans."

When she finished, a portal appeared in front of us. I walked towards it but looked at Botan. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" I asked again, worried for my new friend.

She nodded. "Don't worry, if the situation gets rough, I'll just fly back to the spirit world."

I smiled and nodded. "Okay, see you when I get back." Without another moment of hesitation I leapt into the portal and I felt myself suddenly moving at very high speeds.

Within moments I found myself hovering in mid-air for a second. Below me was a stone platform and all around it was lava. "Huh?" I started to drop towards the lava, but before I could miss, I did a flip in the air allowing myself to land on one of the stone platforms.

I looked around and saw where I was, there were plenty of platforms similar to the one I was on, but the other side lacked them.

"Where are they…?" I asked myself and then quickly noticed three figures standing on one. On that same platform was another figure hanging for dear life, literally, as well.

I waved my hands up in the air. "Hiei! Kurama! Yusuke too!" I called out. They all turned towards my direction. I smiled as I continued to wave at them. "Surprised?"

Kuwabara, the one who had been hanging around, leapt and quickly made it onto the stone platform with the rest of the others. "Hey it's that cute girl from before!" He yelled as he started to leap across the platforms to get to me.

"Th-That was a quick recovery…." I remarked and leapt out of the way as he jumped onto the platform I was on. Safe to say he landed on his face as a result of my quick evasion. "Please, don't come near me." I remarked half joking, and half serious.

The rest of the three made their way over in a much less hurried fashion. "What are you doing here?" Yusuke asked me first.

"Botan sent me." I said with a thumbs up.

"That wasn't a good idea, if your spirit energy is nearly depleted." Kurama stated sensing my power levels. I noticed the wound on his stomach.

"Oh." I frowned and was disappointed my spirit energy was used up. My demon energy wasn't as effective in healing. "I can still use my demon energy." I remarked as I summoned my weapon.

"A demon?" Kuwabara exclaimed as he got up from his fall. "You're with these guys?" He seemed utterly disappointed.

I turned to him. "I wouldn't speak so poorly of these guys, considering you're supposed to be a team." I stood up for Hiei and Kurama. He made them seem like they were bad people. "And for your information, I'm only half-demon. I'm half human as well."

"Right, right, half-breed we got it." Yusuke remarked. Normally a remark like that would set me off, but coming from him I knew there was no ill intention. I bet he'd be the only one I could tolerate calling me that. "Well, the more the merrier, I suppose. You should've come faster though. Would've motivated this big lug to finish off Byakko the first time around." He remarked.

I turned to Kuwabara. "You had to fight twice?" I asked.

Kuwabara nodded. "That's right. I, the fearless Kuwabara, never leave a man's work unfinished." He was dramatizing over a comment that I had meant as an insult more or less.

I ignored him and turned to Kurama. "How was your fight? Since you have a wound on your stomach, I would assume it was a doozy." I commented. "You really do like to use your abdomen as a shield, don't you?" I teased as I examined to see if he would be okay without immediate healing.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Kuwabara said. "You're just like Hiei!"

"Don't compare me to her."

"Don't compare me to him." The two of us said at the same time.

"The fact that you're here Sakura, just makes my job harder. I have to babysit the humans and you." Hiei remarked as he started to enter the hallway that led out of the lava pit.

I grumbled at Hiei. He was always so moody. One of these days I was going to prove I didn't need babysitting. And furthermore, I refused to be lumped in with a guy like Kuwabara. _Remind me why I was worried about you?_ I asked as I followed and the rest of the group went as well.

_Why would I know and care about an unnecessary emotion?_ Ooh Hiei! He seemed to be even more aloof than usual ever since we got this saint beast mission.

"Is something the matter, Sakura?" Kurama asked me. "You seem frazzled." I smiled at Kurama and calmed myself.

I shook my head. "No, I'm okay." I then changed my expression to annoyance at Hiei. "I just hope I won't be a burden to any of you." I said loudly, clearly aiming it towards Hiei.

"Don't worry baby, I'll protect you with my awesome sword." Kuwabara exclaimed.

"Ew, please do not call me that." I said renouncing the idea of such nicknames altogether.

"Are you done?" Hiei asked. I stopped and watched as he turned towards me. "You shouldn't be here, because you're right. You're just going to be a burden to us." Hiei cooly stated and walked off again.

"Ouch, Hiei sure has a way with the ladies." Yusuke remarked. He put a hand on my shoulder and I was trying not to wear a dejected expression my face. "Don't worry, Sakura, glad to see you're here." Yusuke gave me a hard pat to my back and walked onwards as well.

I followed behind the group, still a little taken back by Hiei's blunt comment. He was just so hard to understand. I don't know why I even bothered, but I just did. I was beginning to think…because Hiei had saved me so many times, I had to prove myself to him the most. Almost a need to be accepted by him.

I nodded to myself. What a stupid reason, but yet…that's why I still accompanied them deeper into the castle, as they were surely off to face the third saint beast.

-x-

A/N: The beginning of the Saint Beast arc! Yay! We all know what's coming up! Leave a review you guys and hope you enjoyed!


	6. Guardian

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: Finishing up the Saint Beasts Arc! Let's go!

-x-

I let the others walk ahead of me and I trailed behind through the stone corridors. I was quiet and didn't speak as we headed up the long winding staircase. It was a moment to think and sort out my priorities.

What Hiei had said earlier, it really stung. But it showed to myself, just how badly I wanted his approval. He was strong and I wanted to be strong. How else would I find my mother? If I could get his approval, I think I'd be at a point where I'd be strong enough to face her. I couldn't forget that.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts, I didn't realize the rest of the group had come to a stop. I ended up running right into Hiei's back. I looked up in time to see him shoot a glare at me which made me rethink on apologizing to him at all. Regardless, I did, and took a step back.

We had reached a large circular room and there were many doors that lined the spherical room.

"What? You're kidding me!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"Hn, it appears we have found a maze in maze castle." Hiei quipped.

"Guess that makes sense." Said Yusuke.

"We must beware. It's something of a legend." Kurama started. "In the beginning, before the barrier wall was erected around the city, hundreds of bounty hunters came in search of the beasts. None succeeded. But the beasts never left their tower. Letting anyone who entered the castle forfeit their lives to this maze. There are fifteen doors, all but one leads to a dead-end. There are no second attempts. Unavoidable traps lie in incorrect passageways. So, you see, a poor choice seals our fate." He was so calm about it.

I eyed each door with a worried look. "So…what do we do?" I asked finally speaking.

"We do nothing." Yusuke said looking at Kuwabara. "Okay, Mr. Sensitive, this one's all yours." I had remembered what Botan said about him being rather gifted in spiritual awareness. Let's see how this would come to play.

His eyes shifted warily between each of the fifteen doors. In a few moments, he managed to narrow it down to one.

"The second door on the left." He pointed out.

"You heard the man, let's go." Yusuke said apparently trusting Kuwabara wholeheartedly.

Hiei didn't move. "How do we know he's not making a mistake?" He questioned.

Kuwabara continued with his instincts and walked over to the door he had chosen. "I'm sorry shorty, maybe it's not your thing, but you're just gonna have to trust me on this one. I know. There is something big behind that door, something scary." Kuwabara proceeded to open the door. "Ah! I hate mice!" He yelled and fell over once he saw what was on the other side of the door.

"Gee Kuwabara, and that speech of yours was getting so dramatic!" Yusuke said laughing at him and I joined in.

We all walked past the surprised Kuwabara. "Oh come on now, surely the saint beast you fought was of much bigger size than that?" I teased as payback for calling me such a vile human pet name.

We walked down a long hallway, and it seemed that Kuwabara really did have a talent. We met no misfortunes that Kurama had foretold of. We kept walking until we reached a massive blue door. On either side of it were stone dragons erected as if a warning to those who actually made it this far.

The lightning and thunder that flashed outside seemed to only intensify the glares of the statues. "Well this is homey." I mentioned.

"Are we supposed to be scared?" Hiei remarked at the statues.

"Perhaps. That is the mark of the Blue Dragon, and judging from the odor, I'd say the beast is inside." Kurama explained to us.

"Yeah, and he doesn't feel very nice." Kuwabara said.

Thankfully we didn't have to try to open the door for ourselves as they opened of their own accord. Past the large doors was of course, a large room. When we all stepped in, the doors closed behind us and slowly I noticed fog seemed to seep out of nowhere into the room.

"This fog's alive." Kurama said with a tone of surprise.

"Must be a form of spirit energy, coming from our beast's body." Hiei remarked uninterested.

I took a step closer towards Hiei and Kurama. "Is anyone feeling a little cold?" I remarked.

"You have done very well to have come this far, but I shall no longer allow you to disgrace my master." A deep voice spoke and resonated in the room and through the fog.

"Where's that voice coming from?" Kuwabara asked as he searched around.

"I don't know, come out now dragon! This whole hide and seek thing is getting pretty lame!" Yusuke yelled. Impatient as ever.

At Yusuke's demand however, the fog began to disperse and I could make out the outline of a very large figure in the middle of the room.

"As you request." The saint beast spoke again and stepping out so we could all see him. So this is what a saint beast looked like.

The next saint beast resembled a large man who looked aged. He had robes similar to that of martial arts and some sort of dragon ornament adorning his shoulders.

"A giant!" Kuwabara remarked and he was right. Next to Kuwabara I felt rather tiny because he was the tallest of the group, but I presume standing next to the blue man would've made me feel particularly insignificant.

"You may call me Seiryu. I am here now to end your lives intruders." He chuckled as if he told quite an amusing joke.

"Well he's no dragon, but he is ugly." Yusuke remarked most likely making light of the situation. I could sense his energy and he was going to be strong.

"It's not wise to say such things to your executioner." Seiryu then looked past us and seemed rather aggravated as he spoke his next words. "It appears that we have another guest."

"Guys, I'm not sure how to tell you this," Kuwabara started, "but, uh…"

"It's coming from behind us!" Hiei called out and the rest of us turned around to see what the commotion was about.

The doors opened again to reveal another massive giant. He resembled a large tiger-like creature. His fur was singed and he seemed badly wounded. It was a sad sight to see.

"You must help me." He pleaded to Seiryu as he dragged himself past us.

"You're joking." Yusuke said in disbelief. That indicated that this guy had to be a saint beast from before.

"I thought…you had beaten him." I turned to Kuwabara, hoping for his sake third times the charm was a saying that actually worked. Still we all moved aside and let him make his way to his comrade.

"Seiryu, these cowards! They tricked me in my own lair." The tiger finally staggered over to the blue giant. "They hid their true powers from me until the end. Look, they even have an addition to their numbers! You must help me recover!" He remarked, noticing me as part of their group.

"I knocked that guy into lava." Kuwabara said stunned that his victory was most likely short-lived. I guess these Saint Beasts were the real deal.

"What's it gonna take to kill this guy?" Yusuke said with gritted teeth.

"You're a weakling." Seiryu finally spoke. "How dare you dishonor us further?" He seemed more agitated by his own comrade than his soon to be opponents.

"Please Seiryu!" He pleaded to the dragon man again.

"You are no longer wanted here, you are a disgrace." Fog started to gather at Seiryu's feet and his fist started to glow.

"No Seiryu!" He begged again. "I can help you destroy them!"

"ICE DRAGON!" Seiryu exclaimed completely ignoring the pleas.

Within moments, the tiger saint beast stood where he was, completely frozen and encased in ice. In a swift motion, Seiryu leapt and kicked the frozen statue, and his body shattered to pieces. The only thing left was his head and even then it was still frozen.

"You were right about my fog of energy." Seiryu turned to us completely devoid of the murder he had just committed. I felt sick to my stomach.

"You heartless bastard! How could you kill off your own friend?" Yusuke tried to reprimand him about his actions.

"Seiryu, why?" I heard the beast's faint last words and I felt sorry for him. I could understand the pain he must have felt to have someone you thought was on your side, betray you completely. Even if he was the 'bad guy', his reaction was no different from mine. It was reminiscent to what I faced with Megumi and Eido. At least I came out alive.

"He was a weapon, not a friend." Seiryu explained. "And like a cheap sword, he rusted." He proceeded to back up his opinion by spitting on the frozen head.

"This race of beast has no loyalty. Alliances are formed strictly to gain power." Kurama explained to us.

"I don't care what kind of race they are. It's never right to kill your own teammate. Especially when they come asking you for help." Kuwabara argued and for once I liked the way he was thinking.

Seiryu chuckled. Most likely to our reactions. "Do not be so distraught over the loss. You will soon join Byakko, and I believe the girl shall join him first." He eyed me and I took a step back. "Byakko was a disgrace to the Saint Beast name, but that one is a disgrace to our entire demon race. Her mixed odor is most unappealing." His voice glowered as if I was truly the worst thing in the world right now.

He was calling me out for being half human and half demon. It was the same everywhere I went. I was going to be marked. It made me angry. I wanted to take him on myself. My fists began to unclench when the spirit detective's voice rang clear.

"This guy has pushed me too far. He's dead!" Yusuke shouted and stepped in front of me ready to fight.

"Save your anger." Hiei stepped in front of him. "You can take their leader. I insist this fight to be mine." Yusuke didn't have a chance to object as Hiei took a step forward ready to face Seiryuu. With this, my hands were fully relaxed. That's right. It wasn't my fight. I'd only be a burden.

"Ah, shall you be first Hiei?" Seiryu asked looking down at Hiei.

Hiei said nothing and only took off his black cloak and threw it the ground where Byakko's head was. The frozen head of the saint beast was now out of sight.

"What was that? Tell me you're not feeling sympathy for this amateur. Also stepping in to delay the half-breed's death? From your actions at the Gate of Betrayal, I was hoping you would have more of a warrior spirit." Seiryu belittled Hiei much to my displeasure.

As to what Seiryu said…about Hiei stepping to prevent me dying, it was hard to believe with how he had acted towards me earlier. It was just as if he wanted me gone as well. After all, I was weak and Seiryu's words were ones I had heard many times. I was not wanted nor did I belong.

"He's a puzzle isn't he?" Kurama asked. "In times before, I've seen Hiei act with similar cruelty, but something about Byakko's execution has caused him great anger." Kurama said watching the battle closely. _Sakura, don't concern yourself with Seiryu's words. There would've been no need for Hiei to save you if you were truly unwanted. His anger seems to have risen greatly over Seiryu's comment towards you as well._

I turned to face Kurama after he stopped communicating with me telepathically. It was hard to believe. _But…Hiei said so himself. I'm just a burden. If Seiryu killed me off, surely it would be a weight off of his shoulders._

"Hiei seems to live by his own code of very complex rules, but one thing is for certain, never before have I seen Hiei begin a fight with such extraordinary amounts of his spirit energy." Kurama continued to speak out loud. It's as if he was explain to Kuwabara and Yusuke, but to also point it out to me because of what I communicated towards him.

"Good, as long as he kicks some ass." Yusuke said. We said nothing more as we all turned to watch the battle unfold.

"I assure you Hiei, it is not too late to join our ranks. Prostrate yourself before my master and he shall give you power and frame beyond what you have ever tasted." Seiryu offered to Hiei even though he was getting ready to fight.

"Is that all you have to say?" Hiei asked him. Seiryu was not expecting that sort of reply from Hiei. "They're last words, you know." He said with a smirk.

"Fine! So that is your choice. Then you shall meet your death with the other weaklings!"

Seiryu released his energy similar to the fog before but at a higher pressure and all aimed towards Hiei. Hiei merely surrounded himself with his own energy and used his katana to part the blast. He was not harmed and we were also protected from the frigid geyser.

"Hey! Be careful!" Kuwabara yelled at Hiei seeing how the stone walls crumbled from the impact.

Seiryu prepared for another icy blow as he poured energy into his fist. "Try blocking this!"

"That freeze technique! Run!" Yusuke shouted.

I watched in apprehension, but was soon relieved when Hiei easily jumped over Seiryuu's head and landed behind him as if it was child's play.

Seiryu chuckled, unfazed by Hiei's amazing speed. "I'm sorry. I had forgotten about your impressive speed. Now," He said preparing himself for another attack. "Let's try this again!" Seiryu sent what seemed like a barrage of 'ice dragons' but it was futile. Hiei dodged each with ease and the only thing frozen was the trail that followed Hiei throughout the room.

"He's going to turn the place into a hockey rink." Yusuke remarked.

"Not just the room." I could hear him Kuwabara's voice shaking. I noticed a chunk of his hair was frozen as well. "Man, I wish I had my jacket back."

I breathed out and I could see my own breath. I probably couldn't tolerate the cold much further.

"Hiei!" Kurama yelled and we all turned to see that Hiei, had stopped on the other side of the room. He was almost in a crouched like position. I noticed one of his legs was frozen.

I held my hands up to my face and I couldn't believe he had gotten hit.

"Hey, he's okay." Yusuke said since only one leg was frozen.

"Yeah don't scare us like that." Kuwabara said. I shook my head. They didn't see it.

"No, his leg. He won't be able to run away any more." Kurama explained.

"Hm, you see? No one ever escapes. Only beg for mercy." Seiryu was acting like he had already won. "With your leg frozen, you can't possibly move. I suggest you start groveling." His eyes darted back to our group. "You shall be next." He said to me.

I shook my head. I refused to believe that Hiei had lost. And, even if he had marked me, Kurama, Yusuke and even Kuwabara were still there. To protect me…I hated that. I was relying on others again.

Why was I so weak? I had to get stronger. Otherwise, I surely would die out of hatred one day. I would never find my mother and everything…would be useless…just like me.

_Then get stronger._

I snapped out of my thoughts to see Hiei still on the other side of the room. _Hiei?_

_Get stronger if you want to find your mother. Find her, kill her, spare her, I could care less. It doesn't matter if you're human or demon. That's just an excuse. You're weak because you run away. Watch carefully, Sakura._

"What can he do?" Yusuke asked.

Seiryu lunged for another attack at Hiei now that he could not move. "Ice Dragon!"

Hiei stuck his sword in front of him and used it almost as a spring to give him a burst of movement towards Seiryu. He was facing Seiryu head on. Hiei and Seiryu seemed to collide and a flash of light could be seen before Hiei landed past Seiryu.

Seiryu turned around to look at Hiei. "You might have escaped, but you are wounded."

"Hiei!" I called out seeing his other leg and now arm were frozen. Hiei seemed unaffected though as he let out a laugh and got up as if nothing had happened.

"So what if your ice trick can kill your friend? It won't kill me." Hiei moved his arm and the ice shattered as well as the ice that had once covered his legs.

"He's okay!" I said in relief.

"That's impossible." Seiryu stood in disbelief. "I shall give one final blow!" He prepared for another blow, but Hiei interrupted him.

"I don't think so." Hiei remarked coolly.

I noticed the purple blood that dripped from Seiryu's forehead. He noticed it too and let out a pained yell over the cracks in his body that were being revealed to us. Clearly in those moments of bright flashes, Hiei had swiftly slashed at the saint beast reducing him to pieces. Literally. He soon disappeared and there was nothing left of him.

"When did he attack?" Kuwabara asked. I wonder if he noticed anything at all?

Yusuke didn't seem to care and let out a laugh as he ran towards Hiei. I did too, just relieved to see that he was okay.

"Don't feel bad Kuwabara, I couldn't see it either after the initial hit." Kurama stated.

"Shorty is a lot cooler than I thought!" Kuwabara exclaimed as both he and Kurama joined us over to see Hiei after his swift victory.

"You made French fries out of that guy." Yusuke complimented Hiei.

"Hiei, how many times did you cut him?" Kurama asked.

"Only sixteen." Hiei remarked as if it was no huge feat. But it was.

"Sixteen? Damn it, and here I could only keep track of seven or eight." Yusuke said in a disappointed tone.

"That's nothing meager. After the first hit, I only saw flashes of light." Kurama tried to cheer up Yusuke.

"I couldn't even see the flashes." Kuwabara chimed in dejectedly.

"Man," Yusuke chuckled nervously. "This isn't good. If you use those moves the next time we fight, I'm going to be screwed!"

Hiei was truly strong. _You faced Seiryu head on. I think I understand now Hiei. You considered me a burden before because I'm weak. You don't want me here because then you have to worry about protecting me as well, since it is part of your punishment. You're right, I do run away. My hate for humans and demons are just an excuse. Because…I still like you, and Kurama and Yusuke as well. Even Kuwabara is growing on me…slowly. You guys are strong._

I smiled to myself. _I could only see flashes of light. I'll get stronger one day. I won't run away anymore. I don't want to be a burden any more. If I get stronger…can I still stay by your side?_

"Maybe." Hiei said out loud to Yusuke…but I felt he was addressing me as well as he looked straight at me while he said it before he walked away to grab his cloak.

"Hiei?" Yusuked asked confused by his simple answer.

"I thought for sure he was gonna say, 'Well of course you fool'." Kuwabara's impression of Hiei was absolutely horrendous.

"Hiei is going through a tricky change." Kurama explained to us. "It appears, he's beginning to like you." He told Yusuke and I felt that it could be applied to me as well.

_Thank you._

I wasn't going to mess up this chance.

We spared no more time as we all headed out the exit of the room and climbed more spiraling stairs of this castle.

I felt reenergized. I couldn't tell if it was the new found inspiration Hiei had given me or if it was the lightning that struck nearby the castle, but I could feel electricity tingle throughout my body as if my energy was slowly starting to return.

We kept climbing the steps, but Kuwabara stopped and we all stopped to see what was going on.

"What now? Got cramps?" Yusuke still had energy to tease.

"My whole brain just felt like an ice cube. I think something bad is happening. I think back on Earth." He explained.

"No telling how long we've been here, but the beasts have most likely organized a counter-assault using the makai." Kurama explained and I thought of the insects back home terrorizing humans and Botan who was left alone.

"Only one more, let's not waste time." Hiei rallied the rest of us together and we agreed as we kept climbing the stairs until we reached an entryway that led us to a large open platform with a tower on the other side in the center.

"Hurry it up!" Yusuke shouted as we continued to run to make our way towards the large tower.

"Shut up!" Kuwabara yelled.

"What the hell is that thing?" Yusuke asked referring to the tower.

"It's the watch tower. I'm sure that's where he's hiding." Hiei explained. 'He' meaning the last saint beast. Hang in there Botan, there was just one left.

"Fine! Then let's drag him out!" Yusuke suggested, but his determination was cut short by a ringing sound. He pulled out a communicator I noticed similar to the one Botan had used to contact the group.

"What now?" He asked picking up. "Gah! Keiko?" We all stopped running and waited for Yusuke to finish his call. "What?" He asked again.

"And I don't think they want to talk!" Botan said and because we all stopped running we could hear her loud and clear. "I'm almost certain they mean to kill her!" Botan exclaimed. Kill? Who?

"Did you say kill?" Yusuke yelled frantically.

"So that's what my premonition was." Kuwabara said.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"It seems Yusuke's human friend is being targeted." Hiei remarked. He nodded when I looked at him inquisitively to see if it was the same girl he had once captured.

"The beast must be using the Makai whistle to order the-" Botan was cut off and only static noises came from the communicator.

"Botan! Are you there? Botan!" Yusuke yelled again, but no words were returned. Talk about a bad omen.

"I don't have a good feeling about this." Kuwabara said and I turned to the tower again.

"We've got to smash that whistle as fast as we can." Yusuke spoke and I could sense his new found determination now that Keiko seemed to be threatened.

We all continued to run and the only sounds that could be heard was the lightning and thunder crashing around us. It was an awful storm that even drowned out the noise of our running footsteps.

"Okay, guys that is a spooky watch tower." Kuwabara remarked.

It did have an ominous look about it. It was tall and cylindrical with a large ovular top attached to it. Something you'd expect in the older black and white movies I watched as a kid.

"The last beast should be on the top floor." Kurama remarked.

"Then let's climb some stairs!" Yusuke ordered. We were going to make another dash, but a noise prompted us to stop.

On other side of the tower were doorways. Each of those doorways had green human like creatures stream out as if a sludge drain had been planted there.

"Hey who are those people?" Kuwabara asked.

"They look awfully mutilated." I remarked. They looked like green sludge and had seaweed for hair. Past the hair were bright yellow eyes and the fact they all looked identical was even scarier. I was definitely in a horror movie.

"Whatever those guys are there sure are a lot of them! It's going to take us about a year to beat them all!" Kuwabara said.

"Yes, considering our time restraints this could be a real problem." Kurama told us.

"I've had dealings with cultivated humans before. They do not feel pain or fear." Hiei explained to us as he looked at the small army forming.

"How twisted do you have to be to turn humans into monsters like that? I think Keiko is in some serious trouble!" Kuwabara exclaimed taking a step backwards.

"Like hell she is! Stupid monster humans trying to slow us down! I'm blowing them all away with my shotgun!" Yusuke pulled back his fist no doubt ready to blast the green guys out of the way.

"Let's use our heads." Kurama stepped in and prevented Yusuke from firing at them.

"What? You want me to head butt them?" Yusuke yelled at him. I covered my face embarrassed that Yusuke had made such a remark.

"It's not wise to waste your spirit power. The more impatient we are the more mistakes we'll make." Kurama had a point.

"Well how is head butting them going to help? My shotgun is the only way we are going to get past them!" Yusuke was getting antsy and was not taking in any of Kurama's advice.

"No." Hiei said cutting into their conversation.

"So you've got an idea?" Kuwabara asked sounding a bit hopeful.

Hiei nodded and walked in front of the group. "Set your eyes on the first tower window. That is your door."

"Well I'm sorry Mr. Mysterious, but it turns out that I forgot to bring my pogo stick!" Yusuke yelled at Hiei.

"Yusuke! Calm down!" I shouted.

"Yeah, he has a point! How do you expect him to jump that high?" Kuwabara bantered.

"I'll need you to listen closely." We gathered around Hiei to hear him elaborate on his plan. As soon as he told us, we all got into formation.

We had formed a line and Kuwabara was in front. I was behind him and behind me was Kurama. Hiei and Yusuke were also prepared.

"You best not blow this Kuwabara!" Yusuke yelled all the way from the back.

"Don't worry, I'm like an ox." Kuwabara reassured us.

And with those words, he ran and I followed suit. Kurama was behind me running as well. I didn't look back but I was sure that Hiei and Yusuke were trailing behind as well. "Just do me a favor guys. Try not to dig in with your shoes." Kuwabara exclaimed.

"Hey shut up and keep running!" Yusuke ordered!

Kuwabara plowed through the cultivated humans and he stopped in the center of them. He quickly braced himself.

I kept running until I was in front of Kuwabara. I outstretched my hands to both sides. I was going to use the last bit of my spirit energy. However, with the lightning that was striking around us, it provided me just the boost I needed. "Spark wave!" I shouted as I released electricity in a wide area to keep the cultivated humans in their tracks so they wouldn't interfere with the tower.

"Alright let 'er rip!" Kuwabara shouted. Kurama who had been behind me leapt and landed on Kuwabara's back. Hiei followed next. Yusuke who was at the rear, used the support of his three friends. He jumped on Kuwabara, then Kurama, and finally Hiei. With one final push, he leapt for the window Hiei had mentioned earlier.

As soon as Yusuke leapt, the tower collided and just in time as I had depleted my spirit energy creating the giant paralysis field.

"It'll be close" Kurama said observing Yusuke.

I watched nervously but once Yusuke grasped on the ledge of the windows, I took a breath of air.

"We did it!" Kuwabara exclaimed!

"You guys Have fun with the veggie-heads!" Yusuke yelled down at us from the window.

"Don't die on me okay!" Kuwabara yelled back at him.

"Be careful Yusuke! We'll join you as soon as we can!" I yelled out to him. He gave us all a thumbs up and he disappeared out of sight.

We turned our attention to the cultivated humans who were starting to move now. "Of course we can only join him once we chop these guys to pieces." I was going to help fight this time. I wouldn't run away any more.

"Poor guys I'm going to feel bad kicking your butt!" Kuwabara yelled as he entered the fray mercilessly punching at the green bodies.

Kurama summoned his rose whip and slashed elegantly at them while Hiei did the same with his sword at high speeds.

I was drained of spirit energy sure, but I still had demon energy. I summoned my weapon and ripped the cultivated humans apart as I leapt and flipped about the battle field.

I don't know how long we slashed and punched, but it seemed like a while. At one point a portion of the dome had been blast to pieces indicating that Yusuke was in a rough battle.

"Can you keep going?" Hiei asked me slashing at a cultivated human that almost snuck up on me.

I nodded. "I have too." I said noticing the large hole in the dome.

"We've got to find some way to get to Urameshi." Kuwabara said, panting from all the blows he had dealt.

"Yes Kuwabara. I have a strong sense that he needs our help." Kurama said agreeing and continued to go back whipping the heads of the green humans off.

I went back and continued to chop off their heads. It was a pain as I had to rely on demon energy to just keep my weapon summoned. If I ran out…well things were going to get tricky.

Luckily, after what seemed like ages, the cultivated humans diminished enough that we could get to the doorway.

Hiei, Kurama and I ran for it but we noticed that Kuwabara was not behind us, but rather above us. "Does he realize…we can leave now?" I asked Kurama and Hiei.

"Kuwabara, what are you doing?" Kurama yelled out to him.

"We cleared a path to the entrance. Quit fooling around." Hiei chastised him and we all ran hoping that Kuwabara would follow and not just hang around.

As we climbed yet another set of stairs, instead of expecting another door that would lead us to Yusuke, we were met by another onslaught of cultivated humans.

"They're like rabbits! They keep increasing in numbers." I said in disgust as I summoned my weapon once more.

"Let's not waste more time." Hiei shouted as he charged in with his sword and I followed behind him.

We kept fighting and only managed to move up a certain amount of steps.

"This blows! By the time we plow through all these weirdos, we'll be too tired to help Urameshi!" Kuwabara complained as he knocked another cultivated human out of the way.

"Tired hands are better than none." Kurama said prepared to attack another.

"Do what you like, I'm not stopping." Hiei said gripping onto his katana. "I'm with you guys." I commented and the three of us charged again at these nasty creatures getting in the way.

"Okay guys, I'm coming don't leave!" Kuwabara could be heard from behind us. I chuckled a little that he just didn't want to be left behind.

We made our way through the second wave and climbed even more stairs. We were getting closer I presumed as the stairs were wrapped around a much larger circumference and there was an open center. One wrong move and one could easily fall to their death.

We kept moving up the stairs but at one point stopped as the entire tower shook with tremendous vigor. I could hear lightning and thunder crash violently outside. If one day my powers could reach such a stage.

"The biggest lightning eruption by far." Kurama remarked once the shaking stopped. "Suzaku is getting desperate."

"The attack will almost surely kill one of them." Hiei said realistically.

"Don't say that!" Kuwabara said holding onto hope as he ran further up the stairs. He stopped short as the stairs before him had decided to crumble away. He took a step back.

"Oh no…" I said taking a step backwards and I felt the stairs beneath me begin to crumble. "Huh? Ah!" I could feel myself sinking with the stairs and I frantically tried to make my way to the small piece that wasn't crumbling away.

"I don't want to die like this!" I shouted.

"Sakura, you fool, shut up and climb already." I looked up to see that I was in fact dangling, but Hiei had grabbed my hand at last second. I pulled myself up with his assistance and breathed in deeply once I was safe on the small set that was still there. "Thank you, Hiei." I said through my breaths.

"Don't be so careless." He remarked with a roll of his eyes. Hiei, act all tough if you want, I'm still grateful.

"That's great Sakura is still alive and all, but now what are we going to do?" Kuwabara exclaimed.

Hiei took a step in front and he threw his sword at the nearest ledge. It struck through the stone and held fast. Kurama summoned his rose whip and lashed it at Hiei's sword allowing it to curl around the hilt. "Needless to say, hold on tight." Kurama instructed us.

Kuwabara and Hiei held on to Kurama's waist and I held onto Hiei's. To spectators, I'm sure this was a very odd sight, but we had to do what was needed. Kurama leapt off the platform and we clung on as he managed to land us safely to the other side.

I got up uneasily. "Have I ever mentioned…I don't deal with heights too well." I said.

"Recover faster." Hiei remarked. "We don't have time."

However, it seemed that time had run out as we heard a large explosion and loud shouts come directly above us.

I shook myself out of my shock and we all ran up to the room Yusuke had been fighting in.

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara said as he saw Yusuke firing off his shotgun ability. I looked and gasped to see Yusuke had been aiming at not one, but seven opponents.

The room was engulfed in a blinding light and once everything subsided, the room was completely demolished.

Both the final saint beast and Yusuke were lying of the floor as if lifeless. We all ran over to Yusuke.

"Wake up Urameshi! Let's go home!" Kuwabara said but there was no response.

"Oh no…don't tell me…" I said losing hope fast. "He'll be okay right?" I said bending down to observe my favorite human.

"He's expended all of his life energy. His heart is stopping." Kurama said with a solemn tone.

"Then I'll give him some of my own." Kuwabara said as he too kneeled by Yusuke's side.

"That wouldn't be very wise. Your body is still badly injured from Byakko." Kurama warned. "Any more strain on it could kill you."

"Me and Urameshi jumped into this deal together and we're both going to come out alive or we're not coming out at all, okay!" Kuwabara refused to take Kurama's advice to heart.

I watched as Kuwabara focused his energy to transfer to Yusuke. It was moving to see how much he cared for Yusuke. Perhaps, Kuwabara was okay too. "Here goes Urameshi." I wanted to join in as well to help out.

_Don't you dare think about expending your own energy._

I heard Hiei's voice in my head. _Remember, if you die, I have to be punished. I'm not in the mood for that._

I smiled as I watched Kuwabara collapse over Yusuke's body. _There's no need. They'll both be fine._

"Well I suppose now we'll have to return to the living world carrying both of them on our backs." Kurama remarked in a light tone.

"Like I said babysitting." Hiei said looking down at both Yusuke and Kuwabara passed out. "Here's what I don't understand," Hiei turned to Kurama, "Why would he bother saving her if he died in the process?" He asked. I got up after seeing the two would be okay as I joined my demon friends.

"Trust me Hiei there are reasons." Kurama said with a small smile on his face.

"Hn. Maybe for a person who's lived there, but I'd never do it. The challenge is enough without taking someone else's slack." Hiei commented.

I let out a laugh. "But you would have to." I remarked. "At least for me anyway." I playfully stuck out my tongue at Hiei to which he rolled his eyes, but I saw a tiny hint of a smirk waiting to emerge in his eyes. "Don't worry, I won't put you in that position. You've done enough 'babysitting' for now."

I laughed again as I helped hoist up Kuwabara and Yusuke onto Hiei and Kurama's backs. "Let's go home." I said to the two of them and they nodded and we proceeded back to the living world

-x-

A couple of days had passed and I walked past Keiko and Botan. "Yusuke up yet?" I asked.

Botan shook her head, but I waltzed into Kuwabara's room anyway. Over the past few days waiting for Yusuke to get up, I was able to meet Keiko properly and found out she was quite studious, but a very friendly girl. I could see why Botan would think her and Yusuke were smitten with one another.

I saw Kurama and Kuwabara were sitting around talking. "Morning guys! Boy wonder up yet?"

"Visiting again Sakura?" Kurama asked and I nodded. I was going to say more but we heard noises and noticed Yusuke was waking up.

"Well about time you woke up." Kuwabara said once he seemed to be aware of his surroundings.

"Where am I?" Yusuke asked looking around.

"You're in my room. Which is back on Earth." Kuwabara informed.

"You've been sleeping for three days straight." Kurama told him.

"Though I suppose you deserve it saving the world and all." I chuckled.

"School looks like a warzone and classes got cancelled for a week. I talked to your mom too, so don't worry about that." Kuwabara briefed him quickly on the world saving situation.

Yusuke didn't seem to care as he cut straight to the punch. "Okay, and what about Keiko?"

_Kuwabara wants us to look sad. As if Keiko really was hurt._ Kurama informed me telepathically.

In that instant I did my best to look sad alongside Kurama and Kuwabara. They wore grim expressions pretty well. Hopefully I fit the charade.

"What about Keiko and Botan?" Yusuke asked again. We said nothing. "What?" He shouted at us. He jumped off the bed and grabbed Kuwabara by his shirt's collar. "Hey! You better start doing more than clenching your teeth. Tell me what happened to her!" He demanded.

"I recognize that yell anywhere." I heard Botan's voice chime in ruining the joke. She opened the door and Keiko was behind her as well.

"Botan? Keiko?" Yusuke looked utterly confused and turned back to see Kuwabara laughing.

"Oh my gosh, that was so great!" He said enthusiastically over pulling off a joke on his friend.

"Sorry Yusuke." Kurama started. "He insisted."

I smiled. "If it makes you feel better, Kurama just informed me, so I thought, why not?" Yusuke was not pleased and started to beat on just Kuwabara. It was all a very humorous sight.

_Sakura, he's awake. Are you done?_ I heard Hiei's voice.

_I don't understand why you couldn't just check up on the detective yourself. Koenma asked you to watch over me. Not make me do errands._ I communicated to him with a small smile to myself.

I said goodbye to everyone and explained how I just wanted to check up on Yusuke. I made my way outside and Hiei appeared out of nowhere. "You're so impatient." I remarked and stuck my tongue out.

"As if you're one to talk. If you want to stay, then be my guest. You're the one who wanted me to wait on you." He remarked.

I smiled and I latched onto his arm. "But of course. You're my guardian! You're supposed too." I reminded him.

Hiei shook off my arm and started to walk away. "Just follow quietly before I change my mind."

I smiled and ran to catch up with Hiei. "Can we train soon?" I asked him.

"And if I say no?" He commented.

"Not fair! You're the one who told me to not run away." I reminded him.

"Yes, but I didn't mean to bug me." He continued to walk and turned around to see that I had stopped with cross arms. "Babysitting never ends for me does it?" He turned around and continued to walk. "Are you coming? You won't get stronger just standing there."

I smiled widely and followed Hiei again. Until that day would come, I didn't mind being a 'burden' to Hiei just a little longer.

-x-

A/N: Next chapter starts the rescue Yukina arc and we get to find out some lovely information about Sakura! Leave a review to inspire me! You guys are awesome and I hope you enjoyed!


	7. Warmth

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: Now let's begin the rescue Yukina arc shall we? Thanks for the review guys!

-x-

I fidgeted to no end as I waited for Koenma to see me. They had finally dug up enough information about my demon side. I finally would get somewhat of a hint on finding my mother. I didn't sit but rather paced the floor constantly back and forth.

"You're going to wear a hole." I stopped and was surprised to see Hiei was here.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. We weren't schedule to train today and if he could help it, Hiei often preferred to be by himself.

"Koenma has summoned me for delivery boy." He was dull about it but I could tell he wasn't pleased. His confinement to the human world was rather a cruel punishment. "And what are you doing here?" He asked.

I smiled at him widely ready to share my news. "Never mind, if you're grinning like an idiot, I'd rather not know." He shot me down quickly before I could even have a chance to inhale.

I grumbled as I lightly punched him on the arm. "I didn't even get one word in!" I turned around and crossed my arms in frustration. "Fine, it doesn't concern you anyway." I remarked and to feel better that he didn't care by getting the last word in.

The doors finally opened and George, the blue ogre called me in. "Ah, Hiei is here too. If you come in with Sakura, Koenma can get two jobs done at once." I grumbled as I walked in realizing the ogre had allowed Hiei to come in meaning he would find out anyway.

Koenma sat at his desk and I saw he had no paperwork to be done. "Koenma sir, both Hiei and Sakura have arrived." George informed him.

Koenma looked up and then seemed to let out a sigh. He straightened himself though and looked at me. "As promised for helping out with Yusuke's spirit detective duties, we have managed to dig up some information on your demon blood." Koenma pointed to his golden-egg like monitor. "Ayame will fill you in on the details."

A young woman cladded in a black kimono appeared before us. She had black hair tied up in a small bun and her blue eyes had a calm look about them. I'd say she looked more fit for Botan's job than Botan herself.. She dove right into my information.

"We're sorry it took so long to find information." She spoke. "The blood work we did for you threw us all for the loop. You're capable of using both demon, and spirit energy, yet your blood work was read as if you were only a human being. Rest assured, you are still in fact a half-human and half-demon species." She explained. "When we saw you summon your weapon into action we began to collect data on that as it seems it relies solely on your demon energy. After looking into our records we found scarce information, but it should be enough to tide you over." Ayame explained.

I nodded. "Okay. I, I'm ready." I said hearing my voice shake a bit.

"You belong to a clan of demons known as syphs. They often keep to themselves which is why we have so little information about them. They are a rather peculiar race as they seem to heavily focus on the aspect of breeding. You see, a female syph can only breed twice in her lifetime. It is because of this result they are very picky about their choice of mates. The reason is because of the syphs abilities in creating offspring." Ayame explained. "Female syphs produce children that have the ability to mimic whatever abilities their father had. This is why females are so coveted because they can produce children with unique and useful abilities. Males are still kept in the clan because only they can help produce pure-blooded syphs in order to keep the power copying at full strength. It is thought that if half-syphs breed, their children can still mimic their father's power, but at a smaller fraction."

A demon clan that cared only about producing children with certain powers. Sounded absolutely revolting. I couldn't believe I was part of these so-called syphs.

Ayame continued on with her explanation. "Because syphs take on their father's ability, it makes it hard to identify them as such. The only way to know is another unique quality about a syph. Syphs have the ability to summon weapons that are unique to them and only them. It's created to best fit the style of fighting for the user. That's how we know you are in fact a syph, because of your weapon."

I summoned my weapon to show it to them. "Your weapon requires constant use of your demon energy in order to keep in intact. Most syphs usually wear out fast because of that and having to use their energy to supply their attacks based on their breeding. However, you too have a unique syph combination. Your mother mated with a human. This is why you look human-like to those around you and because humans have the ability to access spirit energy, you too can use it. Though why it has taken the form of electricity we still do not understand. They are a very closed off race and like to keep to themselves. It's been almost a century since we've seen one in the living world." She did a small bow. "I hope that helps you in any way." She said before leaving.

I just stood there kind of numb from the information. It was enough to know more about myself, but at the same time I had a hundred more questions pop up in my head. I'm sure the only way to get my answers was to find them. But if they were so rare and secreted, it was going to be a difficult task.

"Well now that that's said and done, Hiei, we have a small mission for you." Koenma pulled out a video tape and handed it to Hiei. "This is Yusuke's next mission and it's vital it gets into Yusuke's hand as soon as possible! A perfect job for you." Hiei, who I had forgotten was in the room, took a step forward and grabbed the tape from Koenma.

"What's in it?" I asked.

Koenma shook his head. "That is for the spirit detective to decide whether or not to disclose to you. The two of you are dismissed." Koenma turned his chair around and Hiei and I walked out of the room.

I was curious to see what Hiei thought of my demon side now that I remembered he was standing there listening to all of that information being thrown at me. Perhaps he had heard of the syphs before.

"Only in rumors." Hiei spoke. I stopped walking and then remembered that he could read my mind.

"Could you not do that?" I asked.

"Then voice your thoughts about me out loud." He retorted.

I grumbled. "So…what kind of rumors?"

"Rumors of a demon race that usually mate and whoever they breed with, is unfortunately left to die. Some apparitions believe they siphon whatever energy is left in order to produce their offspring. If it is the same race, then it is obvious to see how they get their names as syphs. The fact that they seclude themselves and are most likely dominant in female, they sound like ice maidens, whom I loathe."

Hiei shot a glare at me. I wonder why he didn't like ice maidens. I didn't know what kind of apparitions they were…it was almost disheartening to hear that my demon blood was somehow similar to a group that Hiei hated.

"Did I say something you didn't want to hear? Well, then you shouldn't have asked." Hiei commented and he stepped back into human world.

I didn't stop him and just stood there and replayed the words he had said in my head. I ignored his harsh tones in describing me as to a group he had obvious disdain for and remembered what he said about life energy being stolen. Is that how…my father died? Is that why? Because of my mother…in creating me? Someone that wasn't even worth keeping around?

I stepped back into human world, feeling a sudden hatred rise up in me…towards me. I had to find Yusuke. Whatever his next mission was, there was bound to be demons involved and I was going to beat them all down to get stronger.

As expected, once I was back in human world, Hiei wasn't anywhere to be found. He had most likely already delivered the tape to Yusuke.

I rushed over to Yusuke's school and waited outside of the gates. It wasn't too long before I saw a stream of students come out from the school signifying the end of the school day. Seeing students in uniforms made me miss being back at my old school wearing my old uniform.

I quickly snapped out of those memories and repressed them back deep in my thoughts as I searched the crowd for Yusuke.

It wasn't hard finding him as I had heard his loud mouth companion among the sea of students. "You better behave when you're at my house Urameshi!" Kuwabara ordered.

I sifted my way over and jumped in front of them. "Yo!" I greeted cheerfully. "Yusuke, heard you got a tape from Hiei." I jumped straight to the topic.

"How did you-"

"Hey! It's Sakura! Did you come all the way here to see me baby?" Kuwabara asked going in for a hug.

I did a slide step resulting him in falling on his face. "We were just getting along so well. What did I say about calling me that? I grumbled as I turned to Yusuke.

"Wow, you really knocked him out…" He remarked bending down to poke at Kuwabara. "Well I have to say he deserved it what with messing with Hiei's girl." Yusuke laughed patting the injured Kuwabara heartily on the back.

"H-Hiei's what?" I asked taking a step back surprised by what Yusuke had just addressed me as.

"Hey, I know what I see." He said snickering as he wiped his nose.

I felt my face get hot. "Yeah, just like how you see that Keiko's your girl."

"What was that?" He said putting his face rather close to mine. I shoved my face into his so that our foreheads nearly touched. "Yeah you heard me detective!"

"You guys…you're sort of…crushing me…" We heard Kuwabara speak and noticed that we were kind of doing just that.

I jumped off and pointed at Yusuke. "Don't go getting any ideas. Hiei is just my guardian assigned by Koenma. I don't know where you're getting this 'girl' crap but don't pull it or you'll end up like him." I pointed to Kuwabara. I helped him up only to punch him in his stomach and back down again. "And if you call me 'baby' again I swear it'll be the last word you utter." I stuck my tongue but helped him up again in peace since Kuwabara wasn't that bad minus the nicknames.

"Okay, okay I get it. You're Hiei's girl. I'll back off. Though I don't understand why you would like a shorty like that who's just all 'I'm too cool for you losers!'" Kuwabara did an awful impression of Hiei again.

"Don't you dare insult him!" I blushed realized what I was doing and the duo only seemed to have the most stupidest grins on their face. I swept my leg to knock Kuwabara down. And I had been so nice prior to help him up before. Not this time. "And, I'm not Hiei's girl!" I started to storm off but had to march back as I had come to Yusuke's junior high with a purpose. "Listen! Hiei delivered you a tape today, correct?" I asked hoping to get back on topic. Yusuke nodded and finally took me seriously. "I want to watch it. Whatever your next mission is, I want to help. I need to get stronger." I said.

Yusuke shrugged. "Sounds okay with me. I don't know what it is though. Could be just doing Koenma's laundry for all we know. Let's see what's on it first and then you can decide if you still want to tag along." I smiled and nodded. "Come on Kuwabara, get up. You can be beat down by a girl later. We've got to watch this at your house remember?" Yusuke walked off leaving Kuwabara behind and I followed him.

When we arrived back at Kuwabara's home, Botan was there waiting for us and Yusuke quickly prompted to yell at her. "Okay Botan! What the hell kind of explanation did you give her? She thinks I'm a freaking intern at some screwed up afterschool program for juvenile delinquents!" He went off and I honestly had no idea what was going on.

Botan only yelled back, somewhat louder than him. "Well I had to make up something believable to explain your absence without mentioning the supernatural!" She returned back to her calmer voice. "A basic tenet of Spirit World is that it can't run properly if normal humans have proof of it!"

"What about Kuwabara?" I asked since he was just an average human and since I was getting a gist of what they were talking about.

"Who cares! You made me sound lame." Yusuke mumbled while glaring at Botan.

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Kuwabara yelled as he prepped the television. "Can we please just watch the video instead of arguing? You're going to annoy my sister! Besides, Botan is right. Keiko's not supposed to know. The truth would only get her in trouble. Maybe you should care more about her safety instead of some stupid cover story." Kuwabara agreed with Botan.

"I just love being tagged team." Yusuke mumbled.

I chuckled. "Don't worry Yusuke, I'm completely neutral."

"Oh thanks." He rolled his eyes at me.

"Oh thank you Kuwabara you are very wise!" Botan said with a smile glad to see someone agreed with her.

"What can I say Botan, you and I seem to be a perfect match in every way." Kuwabara remarked.

I nearly fell over. "Do you just fall for anyone who has the ability to bat their eyelashes?" I yelled at him only to have him chuckle nervously. "You switched to Botan so fast." I remarked sitting back up.

"Actually, Kuwabara crushed on Botan before you came along Sakura. I guess he's back to her now that you're Hiei's girl." Yusuke commented before I hit him on the back of the head.

"Would you stop that! Play the damn tape!" I exclaimed as I slapped the floor.

"Now one more thing before I push play Urameshi," Kuwabara started ignoring his friend who was keeled over. "Whatever kind of mission it is, there's no way I'm getting involved!" He declared on the spot.

"Okay, okay! Just start the tape!" Yusuke said getting up.

Kuwabara pressed play and once it started I couldn't help but notice Koenma's logo was much like the films I had seen when I would go out to the movies as a child.

"Snarl! Snarl!" An ogre called out. I felt embarrassed watching this opening knock off.

"They go all out huh?" Kuwabara remarked.

"Either he's full of himself or really bored." Yusuke joined in.

The video turned to a familiar room and I recognized Koenma sitting on the chair that he was always in when I met up with him.

"Welcome. How do you like my video? The great Koenma ruler of the Spirit World has yet another important case for you." Koenma announced.

"This is seriously the guy you get your job from Urameshi? This itty bitty little toddler?" Kuwabara remarked.

"I said the same thing when I met him and Botan hit me on the head" Yusuke answered probably peeved that Kuwabara didn't get the same treatment.

"Perhaps that's why Koenma is doing the video this time. He can't bear these first reactions." Botan explained.

I held up my finger to my mouth. "Shh!"

Koenma was starting to speak again. "This mission will be another doozy but hopefully you will survive. By the way, don't worry about people entering the room. This video is specially imprinted and will appear as annoying fuzz to anyone without heightened spirit awareness. Now your mission is search and rescue except without the searching. Watch my magic snap." Koenma snapped his fingers and the scenery changed to that of a forest thicket.

"C'mon that's just a cheap camera trick!" Yusuke yelled as if Koenma could hear him.

"This looks hard Urameshi." Kuwabara said watching the video.

"Shut up!" He exclaimed.

The video continued to pan around the view of the forest and even mountains popped up. Koenma continued to speak. "Spirit World intelligence reports that the captive is being held in a mountain stronghold that is two hundred miles from your city, and not being of driving age you will have to take the bus. The mountain is a base of criminal activity. Normally I don't mind that, but the humans have made ties with some very nasty demons. The captive's name is Yukina; she's an ice apparition, very rare.

The camera turned back to Koenma "Equally rare are the beautiful jewels she can produce." Koenma held up a small blue jewel. "Which is why the criminals have captured her. They hope to profit greatly off of Yukina, forcing her to create these jewels at an unnatural pace, and by force I mean torture."

The camera then switched to a large mansion nestled among some of the forest's trees. It zoomed in on a tower with a window and you could see the silhouette of what was no doubt Yukina. I paid no attention to that as I could only notice the talismans on her window. The very same that I had been exposed to what seemed like so long ago.

"That's horrible." Botan remarked not knowing the true extent of her statement.

"You see," Koenma continued on, "there is one way to make the jewels, her tears."

_I've decided to entertain myself a little. Surely you can provide that for me. Tarukane has an apparition that can produce jewels._

The words of my grandfather's harsh words rang throughout my head. So…this is who he must've been talking about. I felt sickened to my stomach.

"Yes, the Hiruseki stone. In the Black Market those jewels sell easily for thousands!" Botan explained to us.

The video once again changed to an image of a helicopter landing. When it did, a short, plump man came out. "His name is Gonzu Torukane, a jeweler, and a thug. He's made something of a name and a fortune for himself in the Black Market by selling rare jewels."

I could never forget a face that ugly. He had large cheeks that seemed to sag and had a lump on his forehead that made him seem most deformed. I couldn't forget that face. He had visited my grandfather once from what I remembered. Actually looking back, I remember he too gave me a look of disgust like my grandfather had, as if he knew of my half-breed status. If only he knew that the week following of meeting him I often woke up my father with nightmares of his face.

"Ew! He's too ugly to be human!" Kuwabara remarked seeing the member of the Black Black Club.

"He's too ugly to be anything." Yusuke said as he continued to watch the screen.

"Here is the most recent picture we have of Yukina. Memorize her face. This mission goes far beyond jewelry thieves, it is imperative that you bring her back quickly." Koenma instructed.

I saw the girl on the screen. She looked young and had a petite figure about her. She had mint green hair that was tied back by an intricate red hair tie. She also had solemn red eyes. Where have I seen those eyes?

"I feel awful for her. We have to leave today." Botan said to us after the tape finished.

Out of nowhere, Kuwabara then stood abruptly up trembling.

"What's his deal?" Yusuke asked looking up at his friend. Kuwabara only turned around to give us the most strange look on his face. "You look miserable." Yusuke said to him, laughing nervously.

"I think I'm in love." Kuwabara said slowly. He had moved on already. Jeez, this guy.

"What?" Yusuke said dumbfounded.

"Well c'mon Urameshi! Let's send those bad guys to the moon!" Kuwabara said with renewed energy.

"I thought you weren't coming?" Yusuke reminded him.

"Shut up! Don't try and dress up the facts again. I'm a good friend and I can't let you save her alone. She's suffering!" He yelled and turned and my eyes followed to see a tall woman with long, brown hair. "Uh…Shizuru?

"How long have you been here?" Botan asked noticing her as well.

"Calm down princess, I just heard you watching that weirdo movie so I thought you'd like some kiddie snacks or something." This Shizuru person explained. I was going to take a wild guess that this was Kuwabara's sister.

"We're just watching fuzz." Yusuke weakly explained.

"Fuzz! Yes fuss, we find it relaxing." Botan joined in with the pathetic excuse.

"Oh then I must've imagined the little boy with the pacifier giving you orders." She said looking down at them not believing it. I suppose it wasn't just Kuwabara who was gifted.

"Kids today with your wild imaginations!" Yusuke kept going.

"Yusuke, did you forget she's older?" I asked and was quickly glared at in return.

Botan let out a sigh, "Give it up Yusuke. Spirit awareness seems to run in Kuwabara's family." Botan reaffirmed my thoughts.

"Okay, Shizuru you win! Now can we have some money for the bus? Like maybe a million or so? That's enough right?" Kuwabara asked his older sister.

"Kiddo for a million bucks you could take a bus to Hawaii. Here's fifty." She said leaning against the door frame pulling out her wallet and tossing it to Kuwabara.

"Yeah! Okay I'll see you guys in a couple of days!" Kuwabara darted out of the room.

I got up very fast. "There's no way I'm losing out to that guy!" I said.

"What? You fall in love too?" Yusuke shot back.

I hit Yusuke in the head again. "Idiot. This one's a bit more personal. That man on the video…he knows my grandfather."

"Grandfather?" Yusuke seemed lost.

"That's right. Yusuke doesn't know about your past." Botan remarked. "We looked you up on file. Sakura is the granddaughter of a man by the name of Kentaro Butajiri. He is of the same criminal syndicate as that of Tarukane."

I nodded. "Those talismans on the window?" I mentioned to Yukina's situation. "Those are the same ones that were being experimented on me. My grandfather sold them to Tarukane to keep her there. I feel like it's my fault she's being held captive. I'm not letting this go. And I'm certainly not going to let Kuwabara get there first just because he's lovestruck." I said firmly.

"You think he knows the way to the mountain?" Botan asked bringing up a very good point as I didn't exactly either.

"Doubt it." Yusuke replied.

"That's my baby brother for you. Better eat your snacks it'll take him a few hours to realize he doesn't know where he's going. Let's watch that video again." Shizuru suggested.

I got up and decided to drag Kuwabara myself instead of rewatching the video that only prompted bad memories.

Eventually I did find Kuwabara at a bus station attempting to read a map and failing miserably at it. I was finally able to drag him back to Yusuke and the others who had finished watching the tape. We all figured out where to go and headed off together.

It wasn't long or a particularly short ride, but eventually the bus pulled up and dropped us off at the base of a mountain and forest area.

"Wow, now this is a big waste of space." Yusuke commented noticing the scenery.

"You know Yusuke, some people like the wilderness." Botan said annoyed at his remark.

"Yeah, old hermits and people who don't know how to talk to girls." He retorted. I let out a laugh. "Hey where are you going?" Yusuke asked Kuwabara as he seemed to walk off. I guess he was in no mood for jokes.

We made our way into the forest and there was a trail that we could follow luckily.

"This place smells like ass." Yusuke complained and I ignored his negative remarks.

"Yusuke, suck it up." I said following Botan who was leading the way.

"You know there's no way we're going to find this place by nightfall." Kuwabara said as he walked up a hill. "The forest looked a lot smaller on the map." He seemed to be dragging his feet at this point.

"C'mon guys! The other trail goes all the way to the top. I think it's our best bet!" Botan instructed us.

"Do we still have walk." Yusuke mumbled and I couldn't help but snicker a little.

"Let's go Urameshi!" Kuwabara seemed to have a new burst of energy as he ran up past where Botan was standing. "Wait for me Yukina! Your true love is coming!"

"I guess he's done being in love with you two." Yusuke remarked looking at me and Botan.

"Oh darn." Botan remarked with sarcasm.

"What a shame." I said joining in.

"What are you guys waiting for? We got a girl to rescue!" Kuwabara yelled at us again and I got annoyed. I decided to run past him and yell out "who's the slowpoke now?" Like I said, just because Kuwabara had a crush on this Yukina, didn't mean I was going to let him do all the work. I would get stronger.

In Kuwabara and mine's rushed mindset, we left Botan and Yusuke behind who seemed to be talking to themselves.

"Hurry up you guys!" I yelled back waving enthusiastically. Yusuke and Botan did catch up, but instead of Kuwabara being miles ahead, he was standing in one spot.

"What's wrong Kuwabara?" Yusuke asked as he approached him.

Kuwabara looked ahead of him with a serious look. "I'm sensing something really bad."

A beeping noise went off shrilly from Botan's wrist. "The compass is going crazy!"

"Yeah, well I think I see him." Yusuke said and I looked up to see a man with short purple hair and round glasses wearing a purple suit approached us.

"Hey! How's it going neighbor." Yusuke said trying to sound normal about the whole situation.

"I'm afraid you're on private property boys and girls. You had better leave." He said with a smirk to us.

"We can't leave we just got here." Kuwabara replied.

"Yeah we're lost, and the birds ate our bread crumbs." Yusuke added in sarcastically.

"Pretty please let us stay at your master's house." Botan asked playing along with their lines.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that." The suited man replied.

"C'mon we know he's got plenty of room." Kuwabara said finally giving up the charade of innocent children.

"That's right; those crime lords always have really swank houses!" Yusuke said completely blowing up our cover.

"Crime lord? You seem to know a lot for being lost." The man remarked as he began to transform right before us. "You had your chance!" His muscles started to grow and he had green skin. His legs disappeared and were replaced with tentacles and he had a snout like opening for a mouth instead.

"I'll have to make you leave myself, but I'm afraid I'm very clumsy." His voice had gotten deeper and I was reminded of when Eido had transformed before me. "Everyone I touch always ends up getting killed. I really don't know why they keep making me the security guard." He held up his hands to reveal there was a mouth on the inside palm.

"You're a demon, hired by Tarukane right?" Kuwabara asked not entirely fazed by the change.

"That's very perceptive of you, and I have orders to kill anyone who comes after Yukina." The demon responded.

"Well that girl is a type of demon right? So doesn't that make you cousins or something?" Yusuke asked.

"Your own kind is being tortured so that no good human you work for can make money. Doesn't that tick you off?" Kuwabara yelled out morality issues at him.

"Not at all." The demon could care less. As I had expected. "It is said that there are humans who will sell their souls to the devil for power right?" The demon said laughing, "Demons can do it too. Don't try acting holy, there isn't one among you whose loyalty couldn't be bought."

"Please. You creeps will say anything to make yourself feel better." Yusuke formed a fist that started to glow with spirit energy.

"You're just trash." Kuwabara said as I could feel his energy as well.

I summoned my weapon. "Demons disgust me, you're no different. You're just as pathetic as Eido was."

"What did you say?" The demon asked now aggravated by our comments.

"Heh. Can't you hear right?" Kuwabara smirked.

"He must've gotten carried away and sold his ears off too." Yusuke said continuing the banter.

"You will regret this." The demon leapt into the air read to attack us. Both Kuwabara and I jumped into the air we each slashed at him, Kuwabara with his spirit sword, causing pieces of his body fall off with ease. He was hanging in the air and made an easy target as Yusuke shot his signature spirit gun at him, completely obliterating the guy.

"And here I was thinking that they were gonna make it easy for us." Yusuke smirked as he looked at where the demon once stood.

"Probably a bit of an overkill." I remarked as I stood next to Yusuke. We all moved on.

Eventually we reached a point where there was no trail left. "Kind of stupid to have a mountain trail that ends halfway up the mountain. I guess they don't encourage much camping around here." Yusuke complained as we stopped deciding where to go now without a path.

"Yes the stronghold is very well hidden. But we should be able to find it eventually by following Yukina's energy." Botan said looking at the compass that was used earlier.

"Why are you still using that compass, just follow my way. The red pinky string." Kuwabara waved his pinky finger and I couldn't help but wonder what he could possibly be going on about now. "The moment I saw her, my love stretched out and tied us together. You see!" He outstretched his pinky in his explanation and made it seem like we could see this so called thread that connected him with the ice apparition. Let's follow the thread of destiny tied to my love!" Kuwabara exclaimed running with his pinky extended.

"He looks stupid." I said not believing that what I was seeing.

"Yukina!" Kuwabara yelled once he got stuck at a point and seemed to wander aimlessly shouting out the girl's name.

"Wait Kuwabara it's this way!" Botan yelled heading in the opposite direction he was going.

"Yeah, but I just got a really bad feeling lets go around." Kuwabara ignored and started to head off in the opposite direction.

"My compass says lets follow the path. We don't have time for detours." Botan ignored Kuwabara and walked off. However, she ended up tripping and being pulled up upside-down.

"Botan!" Yusuke yelled and tried to catch her but eventually she was too high.

"Whoopsie." Botan said looking down at us. "A little help." Botan nervously asked noticing a gleam of eyes appear out of nowhere in the shadows.

Botan let out a scream once the eyes came into full view with a spider body attached to it. The demon had long blonde hair and was huge!

"What a nice catch." The a static sounding female voice remarked.

"Ew. It's a spider this time." Yusuke said looking up at the demon. "Hey let her go!" He called out.

I took a step back. "I'm all for fighting demons, but I hate bugs!" I remarked.

"Go? Now why would I let her go if I'm planning on drinking her blood? If you want to save her you'll have to come up and fight me in the evil spider's lair!" The insect demon challenged us.

In an instant Kuwabara summoned his spirit sword and sliced at the web setting Botan free.

"Sorry to mess up your plan but nobody is getting between Yukina and me!" Kuwabara yelled as Yusuke caught Botan.

"You can't possibly be human." The spider said looking at us startled by the powers Kuwabara showed.

"Yup." Yusuke commented.

"We just happen to be really, really tough." Kuwabara joined in.

I chuckled. "To be fair, I'm only half human. But it doesn't matter. You'll be dead soon anyway."

"Pardon me if I make this quick." The spider didn't care to be insulted as it leapt at us ready to kill us. Yusuke shot it in the stomach with a hard punch and I sent out a torrential shot.

It fell on its back and laid there writhing from the hit and the electricity that was traveling its way around its body.

"If this detective thing doesn't work, maybe I can try exterminating." Yusuke joked.

Botan and I scouted the area to find there were no other demons which was good as it was getting dark. "We'll camp here for the night." She suggested. It wasn't long after we set up camp that we all fell asleep.

"_You do not belong in the demon world." I could hear a voice, but it was hard as a storm raged around me. "-you are a disgrace." Who are you?_

"_Goodbye." No wait! I felt helpless. I couldn't move. Only strain to hear the voice that was talking to me as a storm continued on. "You'll have to die."_

I shot up and took deep breaths. I closed my eyes shut trying to get a visual of what I just dreamed. Nothing. I let out a sigh as I noticed that Yusuke, Botan, and Kuwabara were still asleep.

I looked at the fire that had gone out. I started to try practicing to whistle. It only came out as sputters. "This is stupid." I said to myself. I tried again, harder, only to make out the shrill sound I had done before. It ended up causing Yusuke and Botan to wake up startled.

I chuckled nervously. "G-Good morning." Sorry about that.

"Yukina!" Hearing that name, I would've assumed it was Kuwabara but he was still asleep.

"Did you hear something?" Botan asked. I lied and shook my head.

"I'm going to go ahead. I'll meet up with you guys later!" I yelled as I left the clearing not waiting for them at all.

_Hiei?_ I communicated telepathically.

_Tch, so you did hear me._ I smiled. I knew I recognized that voice, no matter how faint it was. I looked around but didn't see him though. _Up here._

I looked up and sure enough Hiei was standing in the trees. I leapt from branch to branch until I was on the same broad branch as him. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." He remarked.

"I watched the tape with Yusuke. He was sent on a mission to save an ice apparition by the name of Yukina. I wanted to tag along to get stronger. And to make that Tarukane pay. He set up talismans all around her room. Talismans my grandfather created and experimented using me."

"Talismans? That explains why I couldn't find her with my jagan eye." Hiei said to himself.

"Find her? Did you watch the tape as well?" I asked him. It seemed strange. Why would Hiei be part of this rescue mission and not inform Yusuke.

"If you're going to slow me down, perhaps you should make your way back to the detective." He leapt onto another branch.

Oh no, there was no way I was letting him leave so quickly. I followed him as fast as I could leaping from one branch to another. We didn't speak, but I was too busy thinking anyway.

Yukina was an ice apparition. Hiei told me he hated ice maidens. So why go through the trouble of saving her. What was even weirder that he disappeared once Yusuke and Botan had woken up.

_Hiei, _I decided communicating telepathically would be easier while we traveled at high speeds. _This Yukina girl…did you like her? It doesn't seem to make sense because you told me you despised ice maidens. Unless she's the reason you do. Did you get rejected by her? I don't think saving her will do much, plus you have competition with Kuwabara._ Why was I rambling even telepathically?

_You talk too much._ Was all Hiei said which only seemed to confirm my thoughts. It was strange to think that Hiei could like someone. It made me wonder…what was so special about her, and how could she turn a guy like Hiei down. Well maybe she'd have a change of heart once he came to the rescue. She'd be much better off with him than Kuwabara.

I continued to follow without another word about the matter.

We traveled from branch to branch until the mansion was almost in sight. It was good to see shelter ahead as a storm was starting. I could hear thunder and see lightning. I wonder if it was because we were up in the mountains or that Yukina, an ice maiden, was nearby, but Hiei had stopped as it was starting to snow.

He looked up at the sky and held out his hand as a snowflake landed in his hands and melted. "Hiei?" I asked as he seemed like he was reminiscing. Times with Yukina? I felt so out of place…

Finally, his hand clenched into a fist and he warped off without another word. I followed quickly. I wanted to meet this Yukina even more now.

It didn't take long before the trees started to thin out and the mansion was in perfect view. Hiei stopped and looked at the tower that was holding Yukina. Well held was more accurate. There was no one in the room. The only thing that could be seen were the talismans. "So this is her filthy prison." Hiei remarked. He seemed absolutely disgusted. His expression changed to surprise though quickly. "I…can't believe they would be here."

"Hiei?" I asked wondering who he was referring to.

"Sakura, stay here." He warped off even faster and left me standing on a branch.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I yelled out but there was no reply. "Jerk! I'm not being left behind! It's not like I'm your girl that you can give me orders!" I yelled again in frustration as I ran towards the mansion without a guide as to where I would be going. I then stopped to mentally kick myself for yelling the nonsense I just did.

I stormed my way into the mansion angry that I was left behind and Yusuke's stupid remarks made it into my head. I ran through the hallways only to find three demons that were beaten no doubt by Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"Sakura?" I turned around as I was about to head down one corridor.

"Kurama…what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Making sure Hiei doesn't kill anyone." He remarked. "And you?"

"Trying to find out where this Tarukane is to make him pay." I said still angry over being ditched and tossed aside. "And then I'm going to find my grandfather and make him pay as well for selling those damned talismans to my grandfather. Yukina…she must be in pain…just like I was." And just like that, I felt my anger subside and I could feel tears start to brim at my eyes.

"You mustn't blame yourself for the capture of Hiei's sister." He tried to comfort me.

I looked up at Kurama with my glossy eyes. "Hiei's what?" I felt deadpanned in my remark.

Kurama looked at me questioningly. "Why else would you be so concerned? Assuming you care for Hiei since I thought it was you yelling about being Hiei's girl, you must also be worried about his sister. That's why I came to make sure he doesn't kill any humans. It's a crime that can't be forgiven if a demon kills a human and since it is Hiei's sister who was kidnapped, he is going to be in an extremely foul mood." Kurama explained.

I just stood there dumbfounded by the information he had given me. Yukina was Hiei's sister. Just a few moments ago I was spouting off theories that Yukina was once his lover and I had gotten flustered and so annoyed by it and…and that jerk didn't even bother to correct me and just let me look like a fool!

My anger started to well up again and Kurama could tell as he addressed me nervously. "S-Sakura?"

"Screw Tarukane! I'm going to find Hiei and kill him!" I yelled as I charged through the corridors with a bright red face. "And I'm not Hiei's girl!" I yelled back to Kurama. Yusuke was next after I was through with Hiei. Never before had I felt so embarrassed!

Kurama managed to catch up with me and calmed me down as he knew where to go. He managed to lead me to a door that seemed to be sealed tight. "Looks like we'll have to go another way." He suggested.

"You go ahead. I'm going to try to enter from this way." I said.

"Will you be alright on your own?" He asked. I nodded and he headed back to find another entrance. "I'll let you know if what I find."

When Kurama left I held out my palm and focused on the door. It was a strong door, but if I used a good amount of my energy, I could blast a hole into the wall. Judging by the noises from the other side, I was going to walk right into a commotion.

Once I felt a good surge of electricity well up in my palm, I formed a sphere like orb of it. "Torrential shot!" I yelled as the burst of electricity shot off from my palm and straight into the wall. There was a loud crackle and explosion that came from the impact and once the dust cleared, I could see an opening.

"You fighters are truly…something." I heard and could see a large muscular man collapse over from the hole that I created.

I walked in and saw screens face the muscled fighter and Yusuke and Kuwabara who looked exhausted.

"Just a minute!" I yelled at the screen that were beginning to turn off one by one as I noticed my grandfather was part of the spectator match.

"You're still alive?" He yelled in utter surprise and fear as well I sensed.

I smirked. "That's right." I pointed to Yusuke and Kuwabara. "Seems like your buddy Tarukane just lost. And I'm with them. I'd watch your back if I were you grandfather." I summoned my weapon. "I'm not the little girl you held captive anymore." I held my finger out just like Yusuke had. "Bang!" His screen switched off immediately after I 'shot' a fake bullet.

I couldn't help but laugh. It was cathartic scaring him and being brave enough to say that.

"Way to join just right at the end. And what's up with taking my trademark!" Yusuke yelled while sitting down by Botan. If he could get mad at me over that, well I'm sure he would be alright.

"Sakura, you know you can't kill a human!" Botan chastised me.

I walked over to the two of them to check up on Yusuke. "Sorry, I got caught up with something. Don't worry Yusuke, like I could ever pull off the spirit gun. Not enough of a shock if you know what I mean." I chuckled. "And don't worry Botan. I just wanted to scare him. Death is too good for a coward like my grandfather."

Our chat was cut short by the sound of cracking glass. "Oh goodness! Hiei!" Botan called out.

"Hiei's here?" Yusuke said turning his attention to the window as well.

I looked up to see it was Tarukane's head that had broken the glass. He was mercilessly beating on Tarukane.

Botan was explaining to Yusuke the consequences as I ran to a door on the other side of the room. As I thought there were stairs that most likely led up to the room that Hiei was in.

_Hiei, stop! _I sent out my thoughts to him hoping that they would reach. _He's dirt. Lower than dirt. But please, don't get in trouble over someone like him!_

I felt like I was screaming these thoughts. I got closer to the room and I could hear Hiei talk and a soft feminine voice that I could only guess was Yukina's.

"-just more nightmares." I heard as I stopped near the door. "Please no more! I can't take it."

"Understood. I won't make you cry. He's too worthless for that." I heard Hiei speak. I was half right. He did have a soft spot for Yukina. But not for the reasons I had thought. It was because she was his sister, and somehow, I felt happy and relieved over the thought. I guess I just felt that way because it was nice to know that Hiei did have a soft spot. Yeah…I'm sure that's why I felt that way.

"You seem familiar." I heard Yukina spoke. "But I'm not sure why. Who are you?"

"No one…just a member of the team." I heard Hiei spoke. I stood at the door in silence. She didn't know…Hiei was her own brother?

I saw Yukina come out. "Oh, did you come to help me too?" Yukina asked me.

I nodded. "Y-Yes." I said recovering from the shock of the news. "I'm Sakura. Pleased to meet you Yukina."

She did a small polite, bow. "Hello, Sakura. I hope we can talk some more. I must go check up on those downstairs." She said.

I smiled and nodded. "Okay."

I walked into the room to see Kurama was already in there conversing with Hiei. "Why don't you want to tell the girl? She deserves to know she has a brother." Kurama told Hiei.

"She deserves to be happy." Hiei remarked.

"I thought the two were the same." Kurama chuckled.

"This is the way I want it." Hiei said with a small nod.

"You!" I said to announce that I was in the room though I'm sure both had sensed me. "I can't believe you let me think she was your girlfriend!" I said marching up to Hiei and began prodding an accusing finger at him on his shoulder. "And what's worse she doesn't even know that you're her brother!"

"It's your fault for assuming. And like I said to Kurama, it's better this way." Hiei answered curtly. "She doesn't need to know she has a brother who is a criminal. You would do your best to keep your mouth shut." He ordered.

My anger subsided. He was protective when he needed and he was a doting brother. "Your jagan eye isn't real right?" I asked. "Kurama told me once. Did you get it to watch over her?" I asked referring to Yukina. "Is your sister the exception to what you told me earlier about hating ice maidens?"

"You loathe humans and demons yet you hang around the detective and latch onto me and Kurama like a leech." Hiei walked past me and stopped. "Does that answer your question?"

"Well we've got a full house huh?" I turned around to see Yusuke and Botan looking around at the knocked out guards.

Hiei ignored Yusuke and walked out of the room without saying a word to either of them.

_You were stupid to assume, but good job on facing your grandfather. Surely he'll leave you alone now. If not you can just warn him that he'll end up looking like Tarukane._ I heard Hiei's voice in my head. Hiei was truly a puzzle. But to know that he didn't hate me…it was a warm feeling.

_Furthermore what is this nonsense I've heard about you being my girl? Is that the human term for babysitting these days? _I felt my face go hot.

I grabbed Yusuke by the collar and shook him vigorously. "This is your entire fault!" I yelled at him while he was completely confused as to why I was furious at him.

This was how my life was. I hope my grandfather saw it even though he only saw me for a few seconds. But I hope those few seconds were enough to show him I wasn't afraid of him anymore. I wasn't meant to be alone like he wanted me too.

I had friends. Friends like Kurama I could rely on. Friends like Yusuke to get angry at. Friends like Hiei who made me…made me like I was just Sakura.

And someday, I want to show these feelings to my mother, just so she could see. See what she let go of all those years ago.

-x-

A/N: So there's the Yukina arc! Which means dark tournament will be soon! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and leave me a review!


	8. Worries

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: Now let's begin the rescue Yukina arc shall we? Thanks for the review guys!

-x-

I waited outside of Kurama's school. It wasn't the first time I had visited him. I always stood in front of the gates and when classes were let out I managed to hear some sort of new rumor involving me and Kurama. Some girls questioned if I was his girlfriend and others dismissed me as nothing. It wasn't hard to discern that Kurama was really popular at school.

"Why don't you enroll if you plan to come here every day?" Kurama said making his presence known to me since I didn't notice him right away. I rolled my eyes but greeted him happily.

"As if." I replied. "I was never good at school. Though I'm sure it would save me the trouble of your teachers thinking I'm a delinquent or ditching." I laughed and started to walk with him to grab a snack. "Does it bother you?" I asked

We stopped at a café and ordered drinks. Once we got to sit down properly, he answered me.

Kurama smiled and showed no annoyance at me. "Not at all, but surely waiting for me must be tiring." He said as he took his tea from the waiter.

I picked up a napkin and started to mess with it. "Not really. There's nothing to do now. Yusuke hasn't gotten a case and Hiei doesn't want to be found." I said casually as I folded the napkin. "I mean I train while I wait, but there's not much to do otherwise when you're 'dead'." I joked.

"When was the last you heard of Hiei?" Kurama asked.

I didn't look up from the napkin. "When he saw Yukina off." I finished folding the napkin in a paper crane and placed it on the table. "He refused to tell her that he was her brother. I still think he should, but it's not my business. I did ask Yukina, if she found out about my relatives, if she could somehow inform me." I said taking a sip of my drink that was brought to the table. "Do you know anything about syphs?" I asked since Kurama's demon side was most likely quite knowledgeable.

"I've heard of them yes. But never encountered one in my Youko days. They didn't have any valuable treasures you see." He chuckled. "They like to keep to themselves." Kurama started.

"So I've heard." I pouted. "How am I going to find them?" I complained.

"Find Hiei," Kurama mused. "All you have to do is whistle, right?"

"I don't think he'd be too pleased if I were to abuse that jagan eye of his. "I chuckled. "You heard me whistle before. 'It's a most annoying noise'." I quoted Hiei. "Plus, I don't think Hiei would be pleased about that either. But," I got up from the café. "regardless if he hates it, we could use it to find him! I want to train today! With both of you!" I suggested.

Kurama smiled. "It has been awhile since all three of us have trained. Very well." Kurama got up and paid for the drinks and I thanked him as we headed to where the three of us had first met.

"Ready?" I asked Kurama once we arrived and he nodded. I took a deep breath and then with my energy I blew harshly and a loud piercing sound could be heard. I was awful at whistling but at least if I put my energy in it, it sort of sounded like an actual whistle. Probably not.

I stopped. However, my technique of whistling was unique. I believe that's why Hiei could find me if I called. And sure enough, in a few minutes Hiei had appeared.

He looked at Kurama and me and his eyes lowered. "I was hoping to find something annoying I could kill off, but it's only you." He said to me.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Nice to see you too Hiei."

He placed his finger in his ear as if wiping out earwax. "It's gotten louder and even more annoying than the last time I heard it. I suppose that means you've improved a little." He said flatly.

Despite the attitude, I smiled because I was glad to see that he noticed. "Just because you and Kurama are always busy, doesn't mean I should stop training!" I said enthusiastically. "But, today we were thinking that we should all train together." I said looking over at Kurama who had supported my decision.

"Kurama what were you thinking? Besides the sun is about to set. Shouldn't you be going home to your human mother?" Hiei was just trying to get out of this in any way possible.

"We'll be fine. Although, that brings up the thought." Kurama turned to me. "Sakura where do you stay when night falls?"

It was out of the blue. "Hmm? I head to the clearing in the woods. Yusuke offered me a place since his mother is usually out drinking most of the time, but I declined. I don't want to impose on anybody. Besides it's nice to sleep under the stars." I said, not minding at all.

"You're welcome to stay with us." Kurama invited. "My mother wouldn't mind. Besides it's dangerous to be by yourself at night."

I shook my head. "Those girls from your school will only send more daggers at me when they see me if I stay with you." I reasoned.

"Hn, jealously is a pathetic human emotion. Don't worry that little pretty head of yours Kurama. She can do what she wants, and she won't be harmed. I've been watching over her." Hiei said nonchalantly.

I looked at him with a surprise expression. "Y-You have?"

Hiei looked at me wondering why I was so surprised. "Honestly, do you even try to remember things? If you die because you decide to sleep out in the open, I get in trouble. I'm not about to be reprimanded for your careless mistakes." He said.

I smiled. I didn't know Hiei was always watching over me. It gave me a little comfort. Even if it was out of duty, it was nice to see Hiei actually following through with it. "Okay! Well now that that's settled!" I said raising my fist in the air. "Let's train!"

"You still want to?" Kurama asked.

I nodded enthusiastically. "I have to get stronger. Then, Hiei won't have to worry about me so much."

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Do you listen with those ears of yours? I'm doing it out of orders."

I chuckled. "Whatever you say. Shall we begin?" I asked clapping my hands together enthusiastically.

Kurama smiled and Hiei wore a half-smirk on his face to show we would begin soon. However in an instant, their expressions changed to that of a serious look and they seemed to gaze in the far-off distance. "What's-" I was going to question them on the change of expression, but then I too felt it shortly after. A huge surge of power in the city.

Hiei looked at Kurama and me and the two of us nodded as we headed over to the city in the direction where we felt the power surge.

We made our way to the city and we went to an empty construction area. The workers were done for the night by the time we arrived, so there was nobody there luckily. In fact it looked like no one had been there for a long time, as the building was completely demolished to rubble. However you could see two figures, and by their voices you could make out that one was Yusuke.

_Who is the other one talking to Yusuke?_ I opened up my thoughts to Kurama and Hiei.

_The younger Toguro. We presumed he was dead._ Kurama explained to me.

_Wait, the guy that was working for Tarukane? The one I saw fall over with Kuwabara's spirit sword in his gut?_ I turned to the two of them in disbelief that someone could survive that.

The two of them nodded listening to the conversation of Yusuke and this Toguro.

"Two months from now, a martial arts competition will be taking place." Toguro's gruff, low voice could be heard from where I stood.

"Oh sounds like fun." Yusuke said. His voice sounded shaky. Was he scared? This Toguro must have been very strong.

"It's a dark tournament organized by greedy human crime lords, and draws upon the most vile demons of spirit world. Each criminal gathers a team of five fighters and the teams battle to the death. Humans enter for gambling and entertainment. Demons fight for blood and a chance to win the prize. You and Kuwabara are special guests in this competition. If you refuse, I will immediately kill you and everyone you know. If you want to survive these fights, I suggest you get stronger."

I watched as Toguro stepped away from Yusuke and saw Yusuke collapse. "You idiot! He's going to kick your stupid ass!" Yusuke yelled out.

I turned my attention away from Yusuke and watched as Toguro was stepping towards the building we had been standing on to watch the scene unfold. He stopped and looked up right at us.

"I assume by your dismal faces, you've been invited to the competition as well, on Urameshi's team, no doubt. Demons who side with humans will get no sympathy." He warned Hiei and Kurama.

"Sympathy has never been a part of those fights." Kurama replied calmly.

"As you know the teams are made of five, so you'll have to recruit another fighter. The halfing you have there will no doubt be crushed within minutes if you make her the fifth wheel." He said as he left and continued to walk away. "For your sake, I hope you find someone useful." He added in as he disappeared.

"What was that about halfing!" I yelled out.

"What is our chance?" Kurama asked.

"Don't ask." Hiei replied.

"He's right though, Sakura." I looked at Kurama who now addressed me. "You've gotten stronger, yes. But that competition is no place that you will be entering."

"But, you need a fifth member. Who else can you get?"

"We'll find someone." Hiei said looking at me. "Listen to Kurama, you'll only get in the way." Hiei said bluntly as he 'warped' off.

"We are merely concerned for your safety Sakura. Don't take it to heart." Kurama said putting a hand on my shoulder before he too decided to leave.

Within a few days of Toguro's invitation for this dark tournament, I had met up with Kuwabara when I went to Kurama's school to meet up with him. "What are you doing here?" I asked as I approached Kuwabara.

"I need to talk to Kurama. Hiei too." He had a serious look on his face.

"You okay?" I asked.

"You saw that Toguro right?" He asked me. I nodded realizing why he had such a grave look. "I want Kurama and Hiei to train me." I did admire his own ambition to get stronger.

"Okay! I'll train with you guys too!" I said smiling at Kuwabara.

"Don't tell me you're going to be in the competition." He said with a surprised look that only seemed to drop my mood.

"No…both Hiei and Kurama have sternly told me no each time I have asked. You guys don't have a fifth fighter. It makes perfect sense!" I declared.

"Like I said, it's about your safety." Kurama greeted us. "But you can train with us." He smiled at me and I just met him with a pout.

We got a hold of Hiei, and after Kurama was finished with school we would meet in a clearing to help train Kuwabara.

"At this rate, you'll never survive." Hiei taunted Kuwabara as he beat him mercilessly with just a bamboo stick. Needless to say those hits were enough to blow Kuwabara back. Even Kurama was ruthless in the training methods.

"Do you realize the danger you'll be in? Hiei cannot prepare you for the viciousness for the fights. Your weakness and his honor make him go easy on you. I will not." Kurama remarked as he stood preparing to fight with Kuwabara.

"Okay toughen me up!" Kuwabara told Kurama.

"As you wish. Here goes." And with that Kurama would attack Kuwabara relentlessly. Watching them made me realize they seemed to go easier on me. I didn't once think it was due to the worry of breaking me, but rather the need to push Kuwabara to his limit with what was coming up.

When it was my turn to go against Kuwabara, he came up with excuses. "But you're a girl!" He exclaimed.

I held out my hands ready to launch a torrential shot at him. "Do you think demons care about gender? No. They only care if they survive and you die. You best leave that code of yours behind. It'll only be your downfall." I leaped into the air and aimed at Kuwabara shooting electricity at him. "This way, if you get hit, you'll learn to resist elemental attacks somewhat!" I called out.

Day after day the four of us trained relentlessly. And after each training session, I was met with the same results when I asked if I could join. I wanted to help. I wanted to fight. I wanted to get stronger. But they all said no.

Two months passed like this. The day before their departure there was no training as they had all left without a word to go where they were supposed to be picked up by the ship.

I couldn't find them anywhere. I assume this was a ploy to keep me away from the competition. I didn't know where to go and couldn't get a hold of either Hiei or Kurama. But, I didn't care. I was going to the competition, whether they wanted me there or not. I could think of only one person who knew where it was and how to get there.

-x-

I made my way through countless weak demons as I headed towards a familiar mansion. When I was at the door, it was hard to believe that these same demons had once confined me to this place. I kicked open the door and entered the mansion. "BUTAJIRI!" I called out.

I was met by the three demon girls that had caught me the first time I was back in my city. "Come back for another beating?" The leader Senna asked me.

"Out of my way! I don't have time to deal with you three. If it's anyone who's asking for a beating, it would be you." I said pointing an accusing finger at them.

"Hah! Like you beat us the first time we knocked you out." One sneered.

"Kinda pathetic that you had to surprise me from behind to knock me out. Bet you couldn't do it without that element." I taunted them.

"What?" The other fledgling screeched. "You have no right to speak down on us like that half-breed!" She and the other one darted towards me and I stood where I was. As they were about to attack and land a hit on me, they were hit with a very nasty shock.

"Barrier surge." I said to myself quietly.

I had summoned my electricity and surrounded myself. It was like an offensive shield and they couldn't touch me. I couldn't help but smirk as I watched them be electrocuted. Eventually, I stopped and pulled the barrier down and the two of them collapsed. I looked at their leader Senna. "Now that they're out of the way, I bet you're nothing without them. You can make this easy and leave…or I can beat you before I go find my grandfather."

"Why you insolent, worthless creature!" She yelled at me and charged at me. Unlike the weaklings that flanked her side, she was fast and I didn't have time to set up a barrier surge before she landed a hit on me. I crashed right into a wall.

She stood there laughing at me. "You were saying? Give it up. You're weak. Maybe if you were a full demon, you'd have a chance against me. I'm far too superior for you."

I got up and my demon energy started to surge as I summoned my weapon. "You still have energy left?" She asked. "Well, let's take care of that."

She lunged at me again, and this time I used my demon energy to generate electricity. Something I had been working on with training. It was far too inconvenient switching back and forth and since I still couldn't use them simultaneously, transferring my spirit power abilities to my demon energy was the next best thing.

When she got close I held out my hand and sent out electricity to paralyze her on the spot. She wasn't stopped in her tracks completely but her movements slowed down. "Those last words of yours just made you sound cocky." I increased my speed and once again generated electricity that made my weapon spin with voltage. I jumped at her and sliced her in half with the help of the electricity.

I stood there with the three demons bodies behind me. I made my weapon disappear. "Is that all you got?" I yelled out, hoping my grandfather would hear me.

He did as he came running down the stairs. "What is all this damned noise…it's you!" He yelled seeing me. He had a look of fear on his face when he saw me surrounded by the two passed out fledglings and the decapitated leader. "You are a monster!" He yelled.

"Yes, and I'm sure they wouldn't have been if they were the ones who would have cut my body in half." I remarked. "They were just in the way." I remarked. "Listen up. I didn't come here to kill. If they would've let you speak to me in the first place, then this wouldn't have needed to happen." I looked at them and almost pitied them.

I turned to my grandfather and looked at him straight in the eye. "The dark tournament. Team Urameshi has been invited. I'm sure you've heard. So tell me, where will they be meeting to be taken to the tournament?" I asked.

"Ha! And if I don't tell you?" He arched an eyebrow. I didn't have time for his high and mighty attitude.

"Think about it grandfather." I said. "You're just a human, while I'm just a little monster. Do you really think you'll survive if you don't tell me?" I decided to play off of his fear of me. I summoned my weapon again just for show. "I think you deserve pay back for locking me up, not once, but twice."

He started to take a step back up the stairs, but thankfully practicing with Hiei, had allowed me to work on being faster. Very quickly I ran up the stairs and placed myself behind him. "Well, what'll it be?" I said whispering into his ears from behind. He completely froze with fear. "T-The edge of blackthorn f-forest. By the ocean side. Just…don't kill me." He completely cowered on all fours. Even if I was allowed to kill him, it'd be too easy.

"You're pathetic. I can't believe I'm related to you." I jumped on his back causing him to fall down and I left the mansion and I stretched my hands out. "Wow, playing evil is hard work. I don't see how Hiei does it." I smiled to myself as I looked at the bright sun. "Okay, blackthorn forest, here we go!" I started to make my way to my new destination.

I arrived at the edge of the forest and I was on a cliff. From what I could see looking at the ocean, a ship was coming in. Not too far from where I was, demons were starting to gather, no doubt to board the oncoming ship. As it came closer to the edge of the cliff I leaped off of it and used the minimal static electricity in the air to guide me down safely onto the ship. I landed just as it was pulling up to where the demons to gather.

"Never thought I'd have to be a stowaway…now where to hide?" I looked around and found empty barrels and decided to climb into one as I waited for the teams to get onboard.

I don't know how much time had passed but I was getting bored. When I heard the ship honk it's horn I was relieved and hopeful it was a short journey since being cramped in a barrel like this for long was bound to have repercussions on my back.

"Wait just a minute! There's a stowaway on this ship!" I heard a raspy, pirate-sounding voice reverberate through the ship and I couldn't help but hold my breath. "There's a human on board and I'm not referring to the team of traitors." He remarked.

Oh…I was so dead. I was starting to panic on what would exactly happen if I was caught. I didn't have to ponder about the matter long as I felt myself being lifted out of the barrel by my black hood. "So you're the grungy little stowaway huh? Eh…you're not even full human…yet you reek like one." He complained and I wanted to rip the guys beard right off.

"Let me go!" I said fidgeting around.

"You know what we do to stowaways right? We throw them overboard!" He yelled and the demons on the boat cheered at the notion.

"Drop her." Both the captain and me looked to see it was Hiei who had commanded it.

"Hiei!" I called out glad to see one of the guys rushed over to see the commotion.

"She's with you? Don't you have a fifth member?" He asked.

"It's none of your business, now drop her unless you want another hook for a hand." Hiei threatened. I heard the captain grumble as he tossed me over to Hiei.

"Filthy half-breed." I heard the captain remark. Hiei had already headed back and I stuck my tongue out at the captain before heading over.

"Thank you Hiei! I thought I was going to be thrown-"

"There's a reason we left you behind Sakura. You've gotten stronger, but you're still weak. You're a liability to the team." He said in a cold demeanor. "You shouldn't have come. You have no use here."

Hiei's harsh words always seemed to sting more than if anyone else had said them towards me. "I'm…sorry." I apologized as I didn't know what else to say.

"If you were truly sorry, you wouldn't have sneaked onto the ship in the first place." Kick me while I'm down.

"So it was Sakura." I looked up to see we had made our way back to the team and it was Kurama who spoke. "I can't believe you found a way to follow us." He chuckled. "However, I regret to inform your hard work was for nothing. Yusuke found us a fifth addition to the team." He said pointing to a person who was smaller than both me and Hiei.

I couldn't tell who was behind the mask but their eyes were visible at least. I then noticed Kuwabara and even Yusuke, though he had fallen asleep. "Darn." I murmured quietly seeing their team had no more slots. "I was hoping to be the fifth member." I bent down to be on eye level with the masked fighter. "Please, fight hard and watch after these guys." I said politely. "I'm Sakura." I greeted them with a handshake but it wasn't returned. I shrugged it off as nothing.

"Hn." Hiei remarked as he got on the ship's railings and stood there. I let out a sigh. He was angry at me again. Did I ever do anything right around him?

_No_. He answered me telepathically.

_Get out of my thoughts._ I told him. I was in no mood.

I looked around and observed the teams of demons. They all varied in sizes and looks. I didn't see what the fuss was about. I could sense their powers and it wasn't that much stronger than my levels. Surely if this was the competition, Yusuke's team would have no trouble winning.

"Shoot, nothing here but monsters. I thought cruises were supposed to have pretty girls." Kuwabara complained. "All we have is just Sakura."

I placed my hands on my hips. "What do you mean _just _Sakura?" I retorted.

"I sure hope the island isn't as boring as this." Hiei commented.

"We are not on vacation." Kurama reminded them.

"I know!" Kuwabara said hanging his head down. "Couldn't they at least give us a place to eat…with pretty waitresses." I shook my head. This is the guy who had flirted with Botan, me and Yukina. He was hopeless.

"Alright mateys! Turn your eyes to the captain's deck." A speaker with the same pirate-raspy voice spoke. Sure enough turning to the captain's deck there was the man who had pulled me out earlier. "It's still going to be quite some time before the ship finds its way to the harbor. So let's have a bit of entertainment to keep you from getting rowdy." He announced.

"Ooh! I knew it! Some dinner and dancing!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"Are you sure you want to waltz with a demon?" I asked Kuwabara who just rolled his eyes at me.

"The preliminary rounds of the tournament will be fought here on me trusty ship!" The demons that surrounded us all had a confused look and demeanor about them.

"Say what?" Kuwabara shouted.

"A preliminary round for the competition." Hiei restated.

"Now that we can't go anywhere." Kurama expanded.

The ship started to shake and I immediately grabbed the railing. "Ah, earthquake!" Kuwabara yelled.

"Fool there can't be earthquakes on the water." Hiei reprimanded him.

"I beg to differ!" I shouted as I held on for dear life.

"Look!" Kurama pointed to the center of the ship ignoring his teammates. The ship began to split and from below a large circular platform emerged. On one side were stairs that led up to the platform where no doubt the fighting would take place.

"Whoa that thing is huge!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"She's a real beauty I'd say." The captain commented on the stage. "Now, I'll tell it to you straight. Fifteen teams have already been chosen for the dark tournament and they be awaiting your arrival. That means out of all of you on my ship, only one of you will compete on dry land." He explained and caused a stirring of complaints from the demons.

"Hold on, I thought we were the special guest." Kuwabara joined in complaining as well.

"This is the way they operate." Hiei explained having no qualms over the situation.

"All teams pick your strongest man and bring him to the arena's portside! There they'll fight in the battle royale, and whoever survives gets their team a ticket to fight on Hanging Neck Island!" The captain explained to everyone on the ship.

"So," Kuwabara punched his fist into his other palm. "One big beat down huh? Guess I'll have to show them the brand new Kuwabara super attack!"

"Yes, I do prefer larger battles. One on one is so boring." A large brute of a demon said coming from behind Kuwabara.

"A perfect chance for me to sharpen my claws." Another one said showing off his large and point claws.

"Now I can kill as many apparitions as I want to after I turn that human Urameshi inside out of course." One remarked eyeing the sleeping Yusuke.

"What did he say about the human?" Kuwabara asked nervously taking a step back to let the demons make their way to the platform.

"What was that about showing off?" I laughed jesting at Kuwabara.

"Well, you know these guys are pretty big when they stand right next to you and everything. Hahahaha!" Kuwabara tried to laugh it off and then out of nowhere he pointed to Yusuke. "Ay! That's right, you're the one who wants to fight them. Well I guess as the group leader it _is_ your responsibility." Kuwabara looked at Yusuke and there was no reaction.

He bent down to eye-level and finally caught on that Yusuke had been sleeping this entire time. "Wake up Urameshi!" He yelled. He grabbed him by the collar and started to shake him. "I said it's a group leader's responsibility." Nothing again. Kuwabara shook him even more vigorously. "Why do I feel like I'm screaming at myself?" He exclaimed.

"Stop." Kurama ordered. "The training Yusuke went through was apparently immense. We must give him time recuperate."

"Then who's going to fight with all the big monsters?" Kuwabara asked.

I was going to volunteer myself, but the masked fighter took initiative and walked towards the stage. "Hn, it seems we have a volunteer." Hiei remarked. "Good, I'm anxious to see what he can do." He said as he watched the small fighter walk up onto the stage.

"Are you serious? We don't know jack squat about that guy!" Kuwabara yelled.

"How can you not know your own teammates?" I asked.

"You see?" Kuwabara asked agreeing with me. "What if he loses and we get booted from the tournament." He reasoned.

Hiei had a smirk about him. "If that happens, all we have to do is kill everyone else on the boat before we reach the island. We'll say we're the right team and no one will complain." I let out a nervous chuckle. That was Hiei for you.

"You didn't have too many friends growing up did you?" Kuwabara asked creeped out by Hiei's idea.

We watched all the other demons from the different teams gather up on stage. It wasn't too long before they all decided to face the masked fighter as if they were going to take him all at once.

"Hey! We gotta do something to warn him. They're ganging up on and he's trapped himself in a corner." Kuwabara voiced all of our concerns.

"Patience." Kurama said looking nervous about the situation.

Once the captain gave orders to attack the demons all lunged for the mask fighter. However, he pulled back one fist and quickly released energy that pummeled each of the demons knocking them straight off the arena into the ocean.

"Holy crap! He got everyone up there with one blow." Kuwabara was taken aback by the display of power.

"Live up to your standards?" I asked Hiei.

"Hn, better than you at least." I pouted at his reply. It was a simple yes or no question!

"I guess that explains why Yusuke can sleep so peacefully on a boat full of demons." Kurama mused to himself.

"Grr, I'm sorry to say the sixteenth team will be a human one. Yusuke Urameshi's team!" The captain announced into the microphone. I couldn't help but jump and cheer a little.

"Good job little man." Kuwabara said to the masked fighter who made his way back to the group. "Now let's see what's under those bandages." He suggested. The masked fighter said nothing but instead pointed past Kuwabara.

I looked in that direction as well to see demons surround the group. "Hey what's this?" Kuwabara asked.

"You think we care about fighting by the rules?" One of them said to us.

"I think they stole my idea." Hiei said looking angry. "We'll have to make them pay very dearly for that."

"Of course." Kurama said light-hearted.

"I'm helping too!" I announced. The four of us leapt off in different direction leaving Kuwabara to deal with the hoard of demons that had surrounded us.

Around me, the masked fighter was moving quickly and didn't even have to move their arms. Hiei slashed wildly and demons while Kurama summoned his rose whip and sliced those in half.

As for me, I summoned my weapon and jumped into a group of demons landing on the palm of my hands. Using my acrobatic skills I merely spun myself to kick them out of my way before pushing myself back onto my feet to slice those that hadn't been kicked over the railing. These were weaker than I had thought.

_Not bad. _I heard Hiei's voice and turned around to see he had killed off a lot of demons himself.

I was going to reply back but my thoughts were interrupted by Yusuke's yelling. "Come on! You can't scare me grandma! I'll knock you back to your grave!" He was standing upright and swinging his fists rapidly to the point where he knocked a demon back onto the opposite side of him.

"That's a relief, he's finally awake." Kuwabara said as he stopped fighting.

"No fool, he's sleeping." Hiei insulted Kuwabara.

"Right now?" Kuwabara asked watching Yusuke again.

"Quit you stupid old lady!" He yelled once more before collapsing into deep sleep again.

"Even in his slumber, Yusuke is relieving his training. His preperations should make us all jealous." Kurama remarked.

"Has Yusuke gotten that strong?" I asked out loud.

"But she wouldn't fight unless she had her own reasons." I turned to Kuwabara giving him a weird look as that didn't really answer my question.

"What are you mumbling about?" Kurama asked.

"Hn, he's trying to talk in his sleep while he's awake." Hiei sarcastically remarked and the rest of us decided to walk back over to Yusuke.

"Oh, hey what happened to the fight we were just in?" Kuwabara remarked looking around.

"Everyone's dead." Kurama said simply.

The six of us didn't speak much considering the dead bodies killed the mood. Plus, Hiei was still mad at me. Eventually we did reach the island and I could see what looked like an index finger and a thumb like rock structure made of rock that seemed to stick out on the island. "So that's Hanging Neck Island…" I murmured.

"This is going to be wild you guys! Everyone make sure not to leave me!" Kuwabara reminded us as we docked.

"Why not? Maybe I could replace you then." I teased giving him a light punch on the shoulder.

Once the ship was docked we all headed off and we walked our way to a large building. It was called Hotel Kubikukuri. This was where the team would be staying while the tournament was being held.

"Are we really staying here? Wow! Well definitely better than the pirate ship." Kuwabara remarked as he observed the surroundings within the hotel.

It was nothing new to me. Adults all dressed up, jazz music in the background and crystal and gold objects as the décor. Seemed just like the parties father always made me go to as a child. I hated them, so it was natural to hate it here. Even more so when I could hear humans remarking how they wanted Yusuke's team to die.

Once we arrived to the hotel room I noticed it was rather big for just five people. In fact the team got two rooms. "I got a bad feeling about the people in here. I never trust grown-ups that dress this fancy." Kuwabara said eyeing his surroundings of the room.

"The elitists usually are never meant to be trusted." I said thinking of all the dirty tricks my grandfather would often do.

"Yeah…well I gotta hand it to them. They sure know how to make things pretty. I haven't seen this much rich stuff in my whole life." Kuwabara said.

The room opened and the butler who had showed us the way to the rooms was back, this time with a tray of coffee. "Your evening coffee gentleman. Compliments of the hotel. We were not expecting a guest, so please accept my apologies." He said putting the tray down.

I shook my head. "I don't drink coffee anyway." I was still part human after all. That stuff would keep me up all night if I took one sip.

"Careful, those fancy guys might be trying to poison us." Kuwabara warned us not touching his coffee cup.

"Does that really make sense Kuwabara? Why would they bring us all the way here to poison us?" Kurama reasoned.

"The organizers want to see us fight. They'll save their murder attempts for tomorrow." Hiei added in. He spoke of death so easily.

_Please don't die._ I said in telepathically to him, but of course no answer. He was still mad.

"You guys can talk your logic all you want. I'm trusting with the trusted old aluminum." Kuwabara rummaged through his bag and pulled out a canned drink.

"Got an extra?" I asked as he threw another one at me.

"Hmm?" Kurama eyed the coffee table. "Why is there only one coffee cup on the table?"

"That's the one I'm no drinking remember? Duh, I thought we had this conversation." Kuwabara reminded Kurama as if he was dumb.

"Yes, so there should be two. One for you and one for Yusuke." He explained.

"Wow…you think Urameshi can drink in his sleep too?" Kuwabara questioned.

It was after that, we heard the sipping sound of coffee and turned around to see a small boy on one of the drawer's tables. He was small and wore a pink shirt with yellow sleeves. He had brown hair that was sticking out of his pink and yellow hat. Two pink stars dotted his face under on eye. He reminded me of a circus performer in a way.

"How did you get in here?" Kurama questioned the little boy.

"He must've been hiding in the room before we got here!" Kuwabara concluded.

"Fibber, fibber. I came through the door after you got here." The boy explained. "Isn't that what good boys are supposed to do? Oops, I guess I did forgot to knock though. So you guys are the guests aren't you? You're so lucky! Oh, my name is Rinku by the way. I'm on the Rokuyukai team that you'll be facing tomorrow." Rinku explained.

"Well is that so?" Kuwabara retorted.

Rinku proceeded to balance himself with just his two index fingers on the empty coffee cup. "I wish I was a guest. You don't have to go to the opening ceremony and hear about all the ruels. You just show up and fight! Guess you don't have to learn about all the prizes and the final round stuff when you're gonna be dead soon." He taunted them. "Somebody told me the guests would be special but you don't look special at all. Maybe I'll beat you, no hands." He confidently boasted.

"Don't you think you're talking too much?" Another unfamiliar voice was present in the room. We turned to see a tall, pale skinned demon wait by the door. He was muscular and had strikingly blonde hair.

"What? Who is he? Something's wrong. I didn't sense either of them come in!" Kuwabara exclaimed. I felt the same as Kuwabara, but I did a better job of hiding my panic. Who were these guys?

"Hey there Zeru!" Rinku jumped off and greeted the stranger. "I was just saying how-di-do to our enemies."

Zeru took Rinku and proceeded to leave the room. "Enjoy your last night of the living. Let's just say tomorrow you'll strongly resemble your coffee cup." We all turned around and saw the remaining cup on the table had been cut in half and coffee had spilled from it all over the table. The two left by the time we looked up.

_Do you see why you shouldn't be here? Even that oaf Kuwabara couldn't sense them. How do you think you would fare if you fought against either of them. _Hiei lectured me telepathically.

_So…you were worried? _I concluded as I helped Kurama clean up the spill.

I looked up at Hiei who I noticed had a surprised expression for a split second. _Don't be stupid._ He replied to me. _Koenma still has placed the rules over me. You die, I'm in trouble. It's pathetic having to deal with that and the prospect of dying in this tournament._

I frowned. _Please don't die. _I said again.

_Hn. I don't intend to._

I let out a sigh. Well if he was confident I guess I could take that as a good sign despite the intruders.

The atmosphere of the room was rather heavy after what occurred, so I called it out early. I headed into the extra room to sleep for the night so I could be up early for the first round tomorrow.

Morning came and I got up early and grabbed a change of clothes. I figured if I couldn't be part of the tournament, I should still look presentable considering I would be hanging out with them.

I was thankful that before I left for the ship, I had gone back to the mansion to grab some of my things. I looked in the mirror at my new outfit I had put on. It was fitting considering both Kurama and Hiei had also donned new outfits. I was so caught up with the demons on the ship, I really hadn't noticed originally.

I couldn't help but blush when I saw myself. It had been so long since I wore bright colors…and formal clothes as well. It was a gift my father had given me when he had made a trip to Korea. Thankfully with my small size, I still fit in it. The salmon pink skirt that was tied just beneath my chest complemented the top of the outfit which resembled a kimono. The sleeves were yellow and on the larger portions closer to my hands were a cherry blossom print on it.

_It looks nice on you. Cherry blossoms. Just like your name._

I remember what my father had told me when I first tried it on. It was a nostalgic memory. This was the first time I had worn it since.

"Sakura, hurry up! We're going to be late!" Kuwabara shouted at me.

I rushed out. "Coming! Sheesh!" I stepped out of the room and met up with the guys who all seemed to stare. I could imagine, as usually I was clad in black and this was rather dressy. Still…it was embarrassing. "W-What?" I asked.

Kurama smiled. "You look lovely, Sakura."

I smiled and nodded with tinged cheeks. "Thank you."

"Tch, if you were going to dress up, you sure you would've been ready to be on our team?" Hiei remarked.

I laughed as that was most likely his way of complimenting. "I could say the same for you." I said. "Blue is a good color on you." I remarked and he seemed to look away from me as he walked out of the hotel. "Shall we get going?" I asked following Hiei.

We made our way to the tournament and thanks to some threats from Hiei, I was allowed to enter with the team. Coming out from the doors, you could hear a lot of demons cheer and in the center of it all was a large stadium similar to the one on the ship. Around it was a lush green area and one could only imagine what blood had spilled there before.

"And now for this year's guest, Team Urameshi!" I heard a female announcer who introduced herself as Koto earlier, call out the boys. Kuwabara lugged Urameshi out and Hiei, Kurama and the masked fighter followed only to be met by jeers from the crowd.

I stayed in the grass area as I watched the team assemble onto the platform.

"This is sure one heck of a greeting for special guests." I heard Kuwabara complain. "I don't think these monsters took their grumpy pills today.

"Agreed, Kuwabara. It most certainly isn't pleasant to be called a traitor by creatures you've never met." Kurama said as he too looked on at the crowd.

I wonder…how the crowd would react if they knew the 'traitor' team also had a half-breed tag-along.

"Both teams into the arena." Koto announced in her microphone. "As always, the term for the match can be decided by the leaders of the two teams. Of course, if the leaders can't agree we'll default to one on one fights, determining the winning team with the most individual wins! Make sense?" She asked looking at both teams.

I listened as Kuwabara and the guy from last night, Zeru, seemed to talk about what to do for the fight. There was really no need to try and strain amongst the noise of the demon crowd as Koto announced it. "Sounds like an agreement! We are looking at one on one!"

Both teams started to walk away, however Zeru, had other plans. I felt his energy level rise and heat seemed to exert from his body. Scratch that. It was! Flames seemed to engulf his body and he wasn't fazed by it one bit.

"Ooh check this out ladies and gentleman! Zeru is emitting flames from his body. Don't you love it?" Koto enthusiastically announced.

The flames were then released and surrounded the team, but did not injure them. In fact, it only encircled them once and then the flames went astray to one side and flowed into the audience. Many demons screamed in pain as they were burnt alive.

I winced from seeing the sight and it resulted in the audience to quiet down big time.

"Well people, the flames are out." Koto's voice rang throughout the stadium loud and clear. "I notice everybody's pretty quiet after that little outburst, but remember that's half the fun." She got back on stage. "Now send out your fighters, team!" She instructed.

I looked over at Team Rokuyukai and noticed the little boy from last night volunteered to go first. I looked back at my friends and wondered who would go first. "Yeah, that little brat is definitely mine!" Kuwabara said as he made his way to the ring.

"You can take him out Kuwabara! I have to go hiking." Yusuke mindlessly mumbled in his sleep.

I watched as Kuwabara got ready to face off against Rinku. "Well, at least he's not facing against Zeru off the bat. That guy was crazy…" I said referring to him burning the audience.

"This is why you should've stayed behind." Hiei remarked. "You could've easily been in the path of that fire." He said calmly.

I chuckled to myself. _Won't you just admit it? You're worried for me._

_Hardly. _Was his only reply and we both turned our attentions back to the fight.

"No limits have been set aside besides one on one. You're free to use any weapons or techniques. First person to be down or out of the ring for ten seconds is the loser. Now begin!" Koto started off the fight.

Rinku did not hesitate as he began to move around the Kuwabara at high speeds. He was moving so fast it looked like there was more than one Rinku on the stage.

"Such great agility. His movements will be difficult to follow." Kurama commented.

Kuwabara just stood there like a sitting duck. "This can't be a good start." I said as I watched.

Rinku exchanged words with Kuwabara as he jumped around. Mostly words to taunt Kuwabara, though I couldn't blame him. "Do something!" I yelled at the tallest member.

"Shut up!" He yelled. "I got this!" I didn't know what he could possibly mean, but after mumbling words, Kuwabara actually managed to hit Rinku square in the stomach causing him to fly back and lose his hat.

"That's what I'm talking about!" I cheered.

Rinku staggered up and he eyed Kuwabara before he started to make a run for it. "Hmm, wonder where all his confidence is now?" I asked as Kuwabara raced in front of him only to kick the boy down.

"Our lessons have helped more than we thought, Hiei, Sakura. It seems Kuwabara is the type of fighter who's true skills can only be measured in the ring." Kurama remarked.

"Maybe so. But he still doesn't understand these fights. He should drop his honor and strike the boy while he's down." I looked at the ring to see what Hiei was referring too. Rinku was hunched over but Kuwabara just stood there.

The two then began to charge at each other ready to deal blows, but at the last second, only Kuwabara got a hit in.

"This could be Kuwabara's best chance to finish him." Kurama called out.

"Start us off with a win!" I yelled. I wanted to jump but I remembered I was still in my Korean style kimono and I suppose it wouldn't have been very lady-like. Though…cheering for someone to kill and or beat another wasn't lady-like either.

As Kuwabara was about to land the final blow, Rinku quickly moved from his spot and made his way behind Kuwabara only to kick him hard, and Kuwabara was the one sent flying. This shocked me, Hiei and Kurama, as we watched.

Kuwabara was down and out. The demon crowd cheered as Koto started to count.

"Should have known. Kuwabara only seemed better because the boy was leaving a trail." Hiei smirked.

"Well he still has a chance." I said doubting my own words. "Come on, Kuwabara! Get up!" I shouted while watching Rinku already celebrate his victory by blowing out kisses to the crowd.

I let out a sigh of relief when Kuwabara did finally get up before the ten count was finished.

Rinku did not look pleased and the two faced each other once again ready to charge.

"They both greatly underestimate each other. I believe whoever realizes this first, will win." Kurama spectated.

"Well at any rate, it's an entertaining fight." Hiei quipped.

"You say that now, but if Kuwabara causes us to losel…"

Lightning clouds started to pull in over the stadium and lightning began to strike. I could feel myself getting energy which made me wish I was in Kuwabara's place right now. But I could only watch.

Rinku then proceeded to pull out eight yo yo's and his spirit energy started to radiate. "The serpent yo-yo attack!" He called out.

"The serpent yo-yo?" Kurama asked a little confused by the child's toy items.

"His spirit power is increasing." Hiei commented.

I nodded. "Now what's going to happen…?"

Kuwabara summoned his spirit energy too, but in an unfamiliar way. "Double, spirit sword!" He called out and just like that two spirit swords, one for each hand, emerged.

"Well that's new. So maybe training him did help…" I remarked placing a hand on my hip. "Get him Kuwabara!"

Rinku launched his yo-yo's at Kuwabara and he charged on headfirst ready to wipe them out with his spirit sword. At least…until the strings snaked around the sword and hit Kuwabara straight in the face.

"Yes of course! The strings, they're alive!" Kurama called out.

Rinku explained how he made the yo-yo's move. And in moments, he went to attack Kuwabara with them again.

Kuwabara tried to avoid this by using his swords to knock up the stadium tiles as a means of a shield. "Offense Kuwabara! Not defense!" I said slapping the sides of the ring in frustration.

Even then, Kuwabara's temporary defense was worthless as Rinku launched his yo-yo's and they hit straight through the numerous tiles and landed another hit on Kuwabara. But, he wasn't finished yet as the strings proceeded to wrap around Kuwabara's wrist and ankles while he was distracted by the initial hit.

Rinku held onto the strings as they outstretched with Kuwabara in tow and raised him so Kuwabara was in midair dangling by a string…literally!

"This is the end…" I remarked and I noticed from the sides Hiei nodded in agreement with me. "Kuwabara, you idiot…" I mumbled to myself.

The fights of the dark tournament right off the bat seemed complex and harsh. I could see why Hiei was worried about me being involved. I wasn't strong enough.

_You're right about not being strong enough, but would you cut the whole me being worried._ Hiei delved into my thoughts again.

_I'll get stronger._ I replied. _And if you weren't worried, why bother getting mad at me for coming here? _I asked.

_You are rather persistent. It's annoying. _Hiei remarked.

I just smiled to myself. _Let's argue another time. Kuwabara is hanging for his life._ I said returning my eyes to the floating Kuwabara. "What chance does he have?"

-x-

A/N: So the dark tournament has begun! I hope you guys drop lots of reviews to inspire me!


	9. Summon

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: Let the Dark Tournament continue!

-x-

"See, I told you Kuwabara's training wouldn't be enough." Hiei remarked. "You best assume him dead and plan for the next fight." He told Kurama as the three of us watched Kuwabara being slammed down repeatedly into the stadium ground.

"No, there are some techniques he still hasn't tried." Kurama defended him.

I winced with each slam Kuwabara was getting. "Are you sure about that Kurama?" I asked and he only nodded.

Rinku once again used his yo-yo's to make Kuwabara rise high into the sky and all Kuwabara could do was yell loudly. He was completely helpless.

"Yusuke! How can you keep sleeping when your friend is in trouble with these nasty demons? Help him Yusuke! Get off your lazy butt and help him!" A yell from the crowd cut through the cheering and I recognized that voice from before.

I turned and scanned the audiences to see it was Keiko who was bold enough to shout out something like that among apparitions. "Well, she's a smart one." I remarked.

"She's going to get killed." Hiei said at her comment.

I nodded in agreement and watched as Keiko proceeded down the steps to the front row. A demon intervened and I'm sure he was going to hurt her. I looked over at Yusuke who was merely sleeping despite _his _girl being in danger. "S-Shouldn't someone wake him?" I asked.

"That fool won't wake of his own accord. Sakura go and shut up that human girl before she dies and Yusuke rips off all our heads." Hiei ordered and I simply agreed as he was most likely right.

When I made my way over, the demon had already run off complaining loudly about his tongue. I stood at the wall as Botan, Keiko and Shizuru approached.

"Sakura, you're here too?" Botan said seeing me.

I nodded. "I…kind of snuck onboard." I chuckled nervously suddenly sensing Hiei's anger at the memory. Still a touchy subject.

"What's the matter with you, Yusuke!" Keiko yelled even louder now that she was closer. "Your friends need you now! Think about that!"

"Hang tight Kuwabara! You can fly can't you?" Botan called out.

Well this must have been embarrassing for Kuwabara as his sister was here as well. I chuckled nervously. "Keiko, you should really be careful with what you say." I said.

"How can you just stand there Sakura, what if Hiei or Kurama were in that position?" She asked me fervently.

I flinched backwards. "Why would you say Hiei first?" I shook my head. "It wouldn't happen. No offense Shizuru, but I don't think either of them would be so easily captured by a kid like that." I remarked watching the two.

"None taken." Shizuru lightly commented as she continued to smoke her cigarette. "Little bro is always getting into some kind of mess. But hey, sky's the limit right? For him anyway." She remarked and I couldn't help but smile at the comment.

"Why don't we ask what the fans want?" Koto's voice from the microphone boomed throughout the stadium. After that question, cheers of 'drop him' and 'let him have it' rang out from the demons. This was not a good sign.

I turned around only to see the strings from Rinku's yo-yo release Kuwabara from their hold and Kuwabara was quickly plummeting back to the ground. "Oh, I can't watch." I said partly covering my eyes.

Kuwabara was getting closer and closer to the pavement, but right before he hit the pavement he placed his hands in front of him and started to gather his spirit energy. "Sword get long!" He called out and his spirit sword was summoned straight into the ground.

It cushioned Kuwabara's landing and he used it as a pole vault to launch himself for a hit with Rinku. "Is he crazy?" I called out. "He's left himself wide open!"

I was right, Kuwabara who was in mid-launch was about to be hit by Rinku's yo-yo's he had summoned. However, Kuwabara summoned his spirit sword. Much to my surprise, his sword actually bent and swerved around the yo-yo's! I watched closely as both parties were hit by the other's attacks head on.

"Oh…wow," was all I could utter. The results were that both got knocked out of the ring by the other's attack.

"Was that the focus of your training?" Hiei asked Kurama.

"Well, more or less. The main training was to have him take precise control of his spirit sword." Kurama corrected.

I crossed my arms. "He actually managed it…although I had trained him to be able to deal against attacks better. Guess it wasn't enough." I said as I heard Koto started to count with both fighters out of the ring.

"I'd be surprised if either of them got back up on their feet on time." Hiei remarked.

"It's true, both the yo-yo and the sword made solid hits. I guess we'll know soon enough." Kurama remarked and I nodded. Although I wondered what would happen if neither got up.

"Get up! You're late Kuwabara!" We looked over to see Yusuke was still knocked out but was once again talking in his sleep.

From the other side, I could see Rinku had managed to get up and back onto the stadium. Of course the crowd cheered since Kuwabara was still on the ground. Koto kept counting.

"Get up there Kuwabara! I'm serious! I know you're used to losing, but not now…" Yusuke mumbled.

"What did you say?" Despite how quiet it was, it seemed Yusuke's words were heard by Kuwabara who got up…but he didn't get back on the stadium but rather went over to our side. "You little bum, you wanna say that to my face? Come on! Oh you're pretending to be asleep now, you scaredy cat!" Kuwabara yelled at Yusuke.

"What are you doing?" I yelled incredulously as I pointed to Koto who was still counting. "The match isn't over!"

Kuwabara looked at Koto. "Hey! Hold your houses, I'm coming!"

Rinku had other plans. He used the last bit of his energy to make the yo-yo's that were still wrapped around Kuwabara to wind around him and have a strong grip as they kept him down. He couldn't move!

"Eight! Nine!" Koto continued to count while Kuwabara was only a foot away from the ring. "Ten!" She shouted!

The crowds cheered as I looked at the board changing the score. "Good going, Kuwabara." I remarked, unhappy with the results.

"That was rather innocent." Kurama remarked. "It's rare to see both fighters still standing."

"I assure you it won't happen to me." Hiei commented.

"As long as you're the one still standing." I said with a smile.

I watched the stadium to see Rinku had quickly retreated after the win back to his team's side. There was no hesitation in the next combatant as a blue, imp like demon stepped onto the stadium. He donned a trench coat and had a nasty smirk about him.

"I'll handle this one." Kurama spoke confidently as he stepped into the ring.

Both Kurama and Roto had a stare down as they waited for the match to begin.

"Kurama." Hiei called out and Kurama turned around. "Considering the stakes, we can't afford to take any chances. Don't leave the ring with him still alive." Hiei warned.

"Naturally." Kurama remarked.

"He can do this!" I cheered knowing that Kurama was very well capable of fighting. Kuwabara struggled to get up.

"We will deal with the rest of the team. You relax." Hiei remarked at Kuwabara.

"Hey! I'm not out of this yet. If Yusuke doesn't wake up, I'll take out the last guy." Kuwabara argued.

"We'll pray that doesn't happen." Hiei coolly remarked and I couldn't help but snicker.

"Alright boys, I'm here!" I turned around to see Botan had removed herself from the audience and made her way over to us. "Now, let's whip this team into shape!" She said enthusiastically.

"Hey, how'd you get here?" Kuwabara questioned.

"Leave, before you hurt yourself." Hiei ordered.

"Well that's a jolly thing to say to someone who's going to help you win! Don't you think?" She remarked at Hiei's attitude. "And what about Sakura? I suppose she should leave too?" She pointed to me as a defense mechanism

"Sakura is being a pest." Hiei directed at me.

"Ouch…" I said sticking my tongue at Hiei.

"Wait, you mean you're the replacement fighter for Team Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked Botan even more confused.

"No silly! Tadah!" She removed her kimino and thankfully she had another outfit beneath her. "In addition to assistance to the detective and pilot of the River Styx, I'm also a licensed trainer! I'll be looking after you all and make sure you're in tip top shape for fighting!" She announced.

"Oh great maybe you can look at-" Kuwabara started

Kuwabara was completely ignored as Botan made her way to the sleeping Yusuke. "Spirit world to Yusuke! Wake up! Come on now!" She said slapping him.

"None of that will work, the boy is determined." Hiei explained.

"Well…at least I'll get him out of the way." Botan said dragging Yusuke over to the wall.

I looked over at Hiei and glared until he noticed my presence. He eventually did and looked at me. "What is that stupid look on your face all about?" He asked.

"You're allowed a replacement fighter?" I asked feeling annoyed that no one told me of such information.

He rolled his eyes at me. "Absolutely out of the question." He said returning to the match that had yet to start.

"I didn't even ask anything yet!" I protested as I continued to grumble waiting for the match to start.

"Right…" Kuwabara said getting up and noticing our squabble. He looked at Kurama. "You know that rose whip he's got is like ten feet long. Where does he stash it? All the ways I can think of sounds kind of painful…"

"Kurama simply carries a normal rose. By manipulating it with his energy, it's transformed into a whip. Even weeds can turn into a weapon for Kurama." Hiei explained.

I looked at Kurama. "He's…so cool!" I said positive that this time our team would get a win.

"You're starting to sound like those fawning humans from his school." Hiei said probably annoyed just by me talking now. His voice did seem to show he was irked. I just rolled my eyes and ignored him as I decided to concentrate on the fight.

"Second fight!" Koto announced. "Roto versus Kurama! Begin!"

Words were exchanged between the two. Roto only commented on how a disgrace Kurama was. It disgusted me. It didn't take long before he transformed his arm into a blade and started to run at Kurama with it.

"Do a lot of demons have that ability?" I questioned out loud seeing his ability to transform his arm into a weapon like Eido. It was as if I was going to be forever haunted by my past.

However, unlike me back then, Kurama had no problem dodging each of Roto's pitiful attempts of an attack.

"He's clearly no match for Kurama. What a joke of a round." Hiei remarked as he turned to Kuwabara. "It's a pity you couldn't have taken him and let Kurama deal with the child and the little yo-yos."

"Hey watch it shrimpy! I just got cheated is all." Kuwabara was quick to defend himself. Hiei ignored him of course and returned to the fight. Or so I thought.

"He'll just end up dead, so there's no need to concern yourself with the past." Hiei also quietly remarked but loud enough so I could hear.

I grumbled. "Will you get out of my head already?" As nice of it was for him to try and comfort me, if you could call it that, I was getting tired of his mind reading.

My attention was back to the fight and Kurama continued to miss each of Roto's swings. At one point, Kurama was able to sneak behind Roto. "Time for the kill!" I said out loud, but instead I saw Kurama quickly step back and he looked like he had just escaped with a scratch on his face.

Safe to say we were all startled since Kurama did in fact have the upper hand just a minute ago.

"What happened? Hey you said no match!" Kuwabara yelled at Hiei.

Something was up, and I concentrated very hard to tune in my hearing to just the stage only to hear Roto was using a dirty trick. He was threatening Kurama's human mother. This was what led Kurama to comply so easily when Roto told him to fold his hands behind his back.

"That's so low…" I muttered.

"What's wrong Kurama? Let him have it!" Kuwabara called out as Roto landed hits on Kurama who refused to fight back.

"Quiet." Hiei instructed me, and I looked at him and he nodded. So he heard of the situation too.

Roto continued to fight at Kurama who still didn't move. The only thing he did was throw a rock at Roto's face. Of course that only persuaded Roto to get more nasty as he placed his bladed arm to Kurama's cheek. More words were exchanged before he actually cut Kurama's face.

"Hiei, can't you do something?" I asked turning to him. "At this rate…Kurama-" Hiei pointed to the ring and I looked over to see that Roto was about to push the button contraption he held in his hand, but he didn't. In fact he wasn't moving at all.

Kurama easily took away the button and I could hear him explain how he planted some kind of seed in Roto. He walked away and Roto begged for his life. I didn't quite understand until a garden bloomed from Roto and he was just a corpse covered by lovely flowers.

Kurama made his way back to us. "Kurama, you did it!" I cheered. "Serves him right for using dirty tricks." I said sticking my tongue out at team Rokuyukai.

"What a fool. So intent on proving himself, he didn't notice your moves." Hiei commented. "Don't worry about his demon friend. He vanished the moment Roto died." Hiei explained.

He must have used his Jagan eye to figure that out. "That's a relief." I said to the two of them.

"Then both of you knew." Kurama said and me and Hiei nodded.

"What a relief." We all turned our heads at the faint words of Yusuke and I couldn't help but smile. The detective was right.

"Okay, enough of the secret plans and stuff. What just happened here?" Kuwabara asked the three of us.

"Yes do tell!" Botan joined in crowding us.

"It's past." Hiei remarked.

"Taken care of." I said with a thumbs up.

"Agreed." Kurama said with a smile.

We all turned to see the change in the scoreboard.

"Those demons think they're so darn cool!" Kuwabara said complaining about how we acted and I couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, at this rate, we can win this!" I said cheerfully.

Of course, no one moved from both teams and even when Koto called new fighters up, there was no response. At least…until Zeru decided to walk into the ring.

"He's going already?" I asked.

"What? Their team leader is fighting now?" Kurama was surprised by the next fighter.

"But he should go last." Kuwabara reasoned. "Maybe there's a mistake?"

"No, Zeru is definitely the strongest of the four remaining. He's fighting angry. It's obvious he's not taking this seriously." Hiei remarked.

"And you are?" I asked since Hiei seemed rather confident at the moment.

"Urameshi team, can we get on with it here?" Koto called to the team over the microphone.

"I'll go. This one has been irritating me since last night." Hiei removed his blue scarf that adorned his neck and threw it into the air. Somehow it managed to land on my face.

I quickly removed to see he was already in the ring. "Was that really necessary?" I shouted waving his scarf angrily in the air.

Of course I was ignored as the fight began. Zeru quickly summoned fire in an attempt to scare not only Hiei, but the rest of the arena as he shot it way out of bounds of the stadium. I felt it got hot very quickly as I moved to avoid the flames.

Pretty soon, Zeru and Hiei went at is as Zeru sent out blasts of flames and Hiei dodged each and every one. I guess Hiei did have a right to take things seriously as he had no trouble avoiding being burned alive.

However, Zeru was not done. He summoned a large amount of flame that shot upward out of the stadium and as Koto announced his skin started to glow red. Hiei stood his ground even though the fiery Zeru was charging at him.

"What are you doing? Move!" I yelled. But it was too late. Zeru landed a solid hit on Hiei and he was sent flying. He was engulfed in flames.

"I can't watch." I said as I turned around and faced Kurama instead who was still watching the fight with complete shock.

I could hear a crash to the ground and I could only assume it was Hiei. I turned around to see I was right as Zeru was the one walking away from the fight. "No…" I whispered to myself. "Hiei!" I called out.

After I called out his name, fire seemed to crackle as Hiei somehow got up. He seemed completely unfazed by the fire that still surrounded him. Even Zeru was completely shocked by his sudden revival.

I could hear Hiei talk about his Jagan eye and something big was going to happen. I scrunched tightly at his scarf. "Don't do anything stupid…" I muttered as I saw him held out one hand that was summoning a dark flame.

"He's going to attempt the darkness technique!" Kurama yelled. I turned to Kurama. That didn't sound good at all.

I looked up at the sky that seemed to darken it's shade. Black portals of energy seemed to surround the island. I turned to Hiei. He was causing all of this.

Hiei geared up for the attack and the energy caused his shirt to tear up and with one last call, he launched the attack. "Dragon, of the darkness flame!" A black dragon was shot out from Hiei's palm and it charged at Zeru and the energy that radiated the dragon from itself seemed to overwhelm even me from the sidelines. I couldn't imagine what Zeru felt as the dragon pummeled into the wall.

Once the blast subsided, the audience was quiet. Zeru was gone…only his charred outline could be seen. "Nice." I remarked.

The scoreboard changed and it was another point for our team. I was just relieved that Hiei was alive.

"Yeah, we're punching our way to the top! Hiei can beat anyone with that move!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "Hiei can beat anyone with that move…am I listening to myself? What if he decides to be a bad guy again? What if he decides to shoot us with the dragon?" He panicked.

"Hiei wouldn't do that!" I shouted back at Kuwabara.

Hiei walked over and I couldn't help but noticed that he had lost his shirt. I actually noticed that before but…I promptly buried my face in his scarf. What on earth…

"Don't worry you fool." I heard Hiei comment on Kuwabara's worries. "We've entered into an alliance and I'm not the type to break it." My face decided to emerge itself from the scarf, not believing the words coming from Hiei's mouth. I had to see for myself….among other things. "Of course after we win the tournament, I can't guarantee a thing." He walked off but I couldn't help but notice he had slightly flinched.

I made my way over to Hiei and I eyed him suspiciously. "What?" He said finally addressing my stare.

"Let me see your arm." I demanded.

"And if I refuse?" He said casually.

"That move badly injured you didn't it? Let me see it. Maybe I can heal it or-"

"Don't bother." He cut me off.

"Hiei!"

"You know, you've become more of a nuisance ever since you decided to tag along to this tournament. Learn where your place is." He instructed me.

"My place? I'm just trying to help!" I shot back.

"Help by stop screaming in my ears. You're irritating and of no use. Go bother Kurama if you're so interested in fawning over someone. You had no problems doing that before. Leave me be before I turn on you." He was starting to get upset.

I wanted to say more but was interrupted by some drunkard entering the arena.

"He's the alternate?" I remarked after Koto explained the rules when the blue-haired demon questioned her. "I could've been the alternate…" I remarked quietly.

_Perhaps your human side has damaged your hearing. You're of no use. You would fail as an alternate miserably._ Hiei's thoughts could be heard. He was being more cruel than usual.

I turned around and headed out where the team had exited. "Sakura, where are you going?" Kurama asked me.

"The alcohol smell is bothering me." I lied not turning around. I didn't want him to see I was in near tears. That damned Hiei. I quickly ran out not bothering to see who would fight against last member of the team.

When I was outside, I could see on the screens that were provided for the apparitions outside that Yusuke had woken up. "About time." I remarked as I decided to go take a walk to vent.

"Hey, you were part of the team earlier!" A demon came up to me.

"And?" I questioned.

"So what's a pretty little girl like you doing around with those nasty humans? Why don't you come with us?" Another demon put his hand on my shoulders from behind.

I turned to him and glared as my energy flared. "I'm in no mood. Back off before I rip your heads off." I didn't mean to release so much energy but many of the demons actually cleared a pathway for me as I walked off.

-x-

**Third POV**

_Are you going to let her go by herself?_ Kurama communicated telepathically to Hiei as they waited for the fight with Yusuke and Chu to begin.

_And miss seeing how Yusuke has improved? She shouldn't even be here in the first place. _Hiei replied without an ounce of concern.

_Worried for her? You should voice your concerns better than insulting her. _Kurama couldn't help but chuckle a little.

_Quit your laughing and watch the fight. She'll return of her own accord. She's like a puppy who will gladly follow me anywhere. It's rather annoying._ Hiei commented turning his attention to the fight.

_And yet you allow it._ Kurama reminded him turning to the fight. _You never answered my question by the way. Perhaps you are concerned for her._ Kurama said nothing more as the fight with Yusuke and Chu started.

-x-

**Sakura's POV**

I walked around the island for who knows how long. I wondered how the fight for Yusuke went. The sun was starting to set so I was sure the match was over and everyone had returned to their rooms. I didn't feel like going back. Especially if Hiei was there!

Hiei…

I pulled the scarf that I had pocketed. He's so stupid…

I decided once more around the island and I guess I should head back before they started to worry. I made my way over to the cliffs where the best view of the ocean was. I watched as the waves crashed violently into the cliff's rocky side.

"Who am I kidding…they're probably not worried at all." I said to myself.

_You're of no use._

Hiei's words resonated in my head. "After all…I was of no use." I frowned. Stupid…going around saying stupid things like that. I won't have an excuse to be around you if you say things like that about me.

"Oh we can find some use for you." I turned around to see a couple of demons. I recognized two of them from earlier.

"There she is! That's the one who tried to scare us off with her energy." One remarked.

"Pathetic. You losers got scared off by a girl like her?" One of them eyed me in a revolting manner. "She is quite the looker." He took a sniff at the air. "Feh…too bad she's half human. No matter…we can still have fun with her."

This didn't look good…

-x-

**Third POV**

"Hey Sakura! We're back!" Kuwabara called out returning to the hotel room. "My sister, Botan and Keiko are going to be rooming with you!" He said referring to the extra room they had gotten. He opened the door into the other room to find it empty. "Hey is Sakura back yet?" He asked turning to the group.

"She's not here?" Kurama asked.

"Man, she missed my fight at least she can be here to congratulate us on getting through the first round." Yusuke complained.

-x-

**Sakura's POV**

If it had just been the losers who had tried to flirt with me earlier, I would be fine. I didn't know they had friends. Then again, did demons really have friends? I suppose if they all had the common goal of killing you, then yes, they could be classified as such.

I had used all of my spirit energy into creating barrier surges to protect myself. There was a lot of them and only one of me. Sure I had learned to use demon energy now to generate electricity, but that consumed a lot out of me. I could only summon my weapon with my demon energy. I was a sitting duck.

A larger demon made its way to the front as it proceeded to grab me by my throat. "I get to kill the little miscreant!" He declared.

It was getting hard to breathe. I could only struggle.

"Heh, told you." I recognized that voice. "You weren't too hard to find." I struggled greatly to see Hiei had found me and had proceeded to kill some of the demons. "Drop her, or die." Hiei threatened.

"B-Back off." I struggled. "This is…not your…fight." I struggled.

"Don't try to act tough Sakura." Hiei lectured me. "Or do you not realize you're about to be strangled?"

"Does it matter?" I managed to spit out. "It's…like you said…I'm useless…" In a sense it was true.

I closed my eyes. Still…I wanted to prove Hiei wrong. I wasn't useless. I didn't want him to see me like that. I don't want to be weak!

I felt like everything disappeared as I seemed to stand in a dark area. It was pitch black and out of nowhere a blue orb appeared. It sparkled brightly and I wanted to touch it, but it seemed to expand and the light was so bright I had to shield my eyes.

Once the brightness subsided, the orb was no longer there but rather a wolf like shape made completely out of electricity. "You have summoned me." I heard a voice and it no doubt came from the personified electricity. "You cannot handle me. You are too weak…but you have managed to signal me…very well. I shall lend you my power. Let's see what you can do with it."

My eyes opened and I saw that I was still being choked. Was that…just inside my head. "I've never been one to take orders, you're not dying on me." Hiei remarked.

I felt my demon energy well up in me. "I told you!" I yelled. "This…is not…your fight!" A large lightning bolt struck me, but I was not affected. The demon that had held me by neck however was badly wounded.

The lightning bolt that had struck…I felt like it came from me. That was real…and suddenly words came to mind. "I summon thee! The harbinger of storms!" Lightning struck once again, but this time, once it had hit the ground the blue-electrical wolf I had seen formed. It immediately charged at the demons shocking them and making them completely fried on contact. As it rammed into the last one, I felt myself getting dizzy. Then…everything went blurry.

-x-

I shot up out and looked around to see Keiko, Shizuru and Botan were asleep in beds near mine. "What…" That was some dream… Once I was readjusted, I got up and headed over to the boy's room. It was early morning and only Kurama was awake.

"Ah, you're up." He said noticing me.

I nodded. "Morning…what did I miss?"

"You don't remember?" He asked me and I shook my head. "Yusuke won his fight and when we came back for the night you weren't anywhere to be found. Hiei went to find you only to see you were dealing with demons who wanted to kill you." He said calmly. "You surprised him. You managed to kill them all on your own…though you did pass out. It's been just a little over a day."

I tried to soak in all that information. So all of that wasn't a dream. "So…he brought me back?" I asked.

Kurama nodded. "You shouldn't worry us like that next time Sakura. Hiei was not happy that you still hadn't returned. I suppose he didn't mean to offend you that much, but you did cause him to worry, even if he denies."

I shook my head. "Hiei wouldn't be worried about me…he just has to keep me alive." I said remembering his role as my 'guardian'.

Kurama smiled to himself. "If that's what you want to believe. Why are you so concerned with Hiei? Koenma didn't place any such conditions on you." He mused.

I thought about it for a second. He had a point. "Where's Hiei now?" I asked.

Kurama told me and I ran off to go find Hiei. I wanted to apologize and…to thank him.

I worked my way around the island and somehow I ended up back by the cliffs to smell the beautiful sea air. It was just my luck that I had found Hiei…straining his arm against the rocks.

I hopped down and stood behind him waiting for him to acknowledge me first.

"I see you're up." He said once he stopped hurting himself.

"Are you sure you should be doing that?" I asked. "Kurama said you guys are facing against two teams starting today." I walked over to him and placed my hands over his arm as I tried to use my spirit energy to heal. It was no use as the dark energy around it seemed to just repel my healing skills. "Hmm…well at least I tried." I said now looking at him face to face. "You…worry me." I said bluntly.

"I didn't ask you too." Hiei remarked.

"I know." I said sitting down on the rocks dipping my feet into the ocean. "I'm sorry I'm such a bother to you sometimes, but I can't help it. You've become someone that is important to me. I'd like to think that you're worried about me which is why I can see why you reacted the way you did during the first round. It kind of stung when you said I was of no use. I lost my excuse."

"Excuse to follow me like a puppy?" Hiei remarked.

I chuckled. "It's true I followed you like a puppy. I told myself it was because I owed you, but in reality I was just alone. But I'm not alone anymore. I have you, Kurama, Yusuke…even that dummy Kuwabara. But I still follow you around…I think it's because to me your eyes still show the same loneliness I had. I could be wrong, but that's why I choose to stay by your side despite everything. I don't want you to be alone…even if you do." I got up and looked at him in the eyes. "Even if you can be a real jerk, you really can be kind. You're not good or bad, you're just Hiei. I said before that I like you. When I'm around you I can be just Sakura. And as myself, I have to say I've come to like you even more. Just as you are. Just Hiei." I smiled at him.

He closed his eyes before letting out a smirk. "You really are hopeless." He jumped off of the rocks onto the cliff. "Are you coming?" He asked me.

I smiled at him as I made my way back up the cliffs. "You're lucky I came upon you. Even if you did kill all those demons that night, the energy you released had signaled others. With you passed out you can't do much." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the blue scarf I had on me. "If it weren't for you carrying this around, it wouldn't have been easy to find you." He threw it at me allowing it to hit my face like before. "Keep it. It's the best way to keep track of you." He said holding his injured arm as he walked back.

I smiled gently. Hiei was so confusing. But…I wouldn't have it any other way. I tied it around my neck and followed him back to the arena. "Hey, do you know what I exactly did?" I asked him.

"If you don't know your own techniques, how the hell should I know? If I were to make a guess you summoned something from spirit world." He shrugged.

I continued to follow him to the arena. This time I would watch the round all the way through. I think Hiei was starting to get used to me. Especially since I could summon whatever that electrical being was. I was going to get stronger. Just you wait Hiei!

-x-

A/N: Sorry it took longer than usual guys! Hope you enjoyed! Leave a review to inspire me! Thanks you guys!


	10. Cheating

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: And now the next round in the Dark Tournament!

-x-

Hiei and I walked through the forest to make our way back to the arena. The way he held his arm, though, it must have hurt a lot. He was walking slower than usual. He was really awful. Making me worry like this. Though…I couldn't heal him either.

"I'm not going to die so stop concerning yourself." Hiei remarked.

"Did you read my mind again?" I asked with a frown but I didn't get mad as usual.

"No, it's written all over your face." That was probably true, but I wonder if Hiei really hadn't. Maybe he was starting to respect me. I should go summon electrical beings more often.

"Are you coming?" He asked and I noticed he had left me while I was in mid-thought. So much for respect. I ran to catch up with him.

At one point, the pain was rather burdening as he fell to his knees and grumbled. I could only watch. I wish I could have done more…

"Is this wise Hiei?" We both looked up to see Kurama standing in the trees.

"What do you mean?" Hiei asked.

"Worrying Sakura like that. Also, it won't be easy to keep winning without the use of your dominant hand. Perhaps you should withdraw." Kurama suggested much to my surprise.

"Let me guess, and let Sakura be my replacement? Hah! You heard what Toguro said. We don't have a choice." He shot back. He didn't have to deny me as the replacement though I thought with a grumble.

I could sense two demons approaching and no doubt Kurama and Hiei could too as Kurama jumped down, but Hiei continued to talk. "If we don't make it through this tournament, he will kill us all. Fighting is our only way out."

As he finished two lizard like demons approached us. "Talk about ugly." I sneered.

Kurama chuckled. "Now that's not very nice, Sakura. Seems the doctor's team has gotten lost."

"Yes, what a horrible coincidence for us both." Hiei chuckled. We all knew where this was going to go.

The lizard that resembled an old man charged at us without a word of explanation. Kurama's rose whip was bared as well as Hiei's sword. "I hope you boys realize…I'm fighting too." I said as I summoned my bladed spinner.

"Of course you would." Hiei dully commented.

Within moments the three of us had moved in a split second and behind us was the weakling chopped to pieces by the each of us.

"What the hell?" The other one called out.

"Huh, and that was using my left arm Kurama." Hiei remarked looking at the dead demon.

"I'm sorry, I used my right. Next time I'll use my left to be fair." I chuckled at their friendly banter and we turned to the remaining team member of Dr. Ichigaki's team.

Hiei pointed his sword at him. "Would you like to try us next?" He questioned but the demon only seemed to laugh.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Thanks but I'd rather not. Death gives me the shivers." He answered both me and Hiei before pulling out a remote and pushing a button.

Our attentions were turned to something moving in the forest. It revealed itself to be a rather large mechanical machine with one glowing red eye.

"You had to ask." Hiei grumbled at me.

The large grey and red robot walked over to the demon and stood there obediently. "Gatasaburu is what we like to call him." He informed us. "One of the doctor's earlier projects. Part demon, mostly machine. Almost like the girl you have by your side, however not as revolting and useless. No feelings, no pain, and no fear! Go Gatasaburu! Destroy those three low-lifes!" He commanded.

"What was that about being useless?" I screamed even though it was heading for us.

"We've covered this." Hiei remarked. "Sakura, get out of the way now." He ordered and something about his voice made me listen. I moved up into the trees for a safe spot and a view.

The machine stretched its arms out towards Kurama and Hiei. The two dodged no problem, but that wasn't over. It only seemed to stretch backwards following their movements. "Watch out!" I called to the two of them.

Kurama jumped from place to place as Hiei 'warped' around. At one point, his arm was stuck to a tree trying to pin Hiei down and he struck the steel beast with his sword, but nothing.

I heard the demon laugh and I looked down on him. "Gatasaburu's body is made with a special formula of hybridized metal. Combining the hardest steel with actual living cells, no substance in the whole world can break it!" he called out.

"Maybe I can't kill the beast," Hiei said in midair. "But I can at least kill you!" He dived for the demon, however his plans were cut short as the arm managed to hit his leg causing him to lose balance. When he landed, he landed on his injured arm.

"Hiei!" I called out leaping from my spot, but it was too late, in his moment of distraction the arm pinned Hiei to a tree.

I made my way over and summoned my weapon hitting the arm. "You let him go you disgusting robot creature!" I shouted while hitting it even though I didn't make a dent.

The demon started to spout off nonsense as if he had already won. "I'll get you…" I said turning towards him.

"Don't move, it'll only attack you if you try to hit him." Hiei grumbled and I watched him hold out his other arm.

"No, you can't!" I yelled realizing what he was doing once I saw the energy formed.

"Hiei don't!" Kurama yelled out. Kurama weaved in between trees and headed towards Hiei. "Sakura move!" I did as prompted when he leapt over the other arm causing the following arm to hit it and releasing Hiei.

I went to his side automatically to make sure he was okay. However, it was Kurama who needed help as now both arms were aimed at him. They landed with a crash and only dust could be seen.

"Kurama!" Both Hiei and I shouted.

"Excellent Gatasaburu, now kill the other one too!" The demon shouted, but there was no movement. "What's wrong with you? I said kill!"

Once the dust cleared I was relieved to see Kurama unscathed, but rather it was the robot who was severely damaged. Its arms were caught in a tangled mess of Kurama's rose whip and sparks were flying from the stupid contraption.

"You were wrong on two counts." Kurama stated.

"What just happened?" The demon was shocked that his machine had failed to kill us all. Hiei and I walked over to Kurama's side.

"Even the hardest substance can be broken when crashed into itself. And the ability to feel pain is not a weakness it is a strength. Pain tells a creature its vulnerabilities and not to expose them to attack." Kurama lectured as the demon started to walk away. "Your robot is dead, and so I'm afraid are you."

The demon turned around to run away but was met by me. "Going somewhere?" I asked as I held out my hand shooting a spark wave at the coward to paralyze him. "Don't kill him just yet." I suggested to Kurama and Hiei who made their way over. "If the doctor was trying to keep you two away from the fight, who knows what dirty tricks the other three are left to deal with." I said.

Kurama nodded. "Yes, the fight has no doubt started." He turned to the demon. "If you value your life, you best tell us everything." He threatened.

He didn't speak, but then again I had paralyzed him. I held out my hand and decided to try something new. I pulled back the electrical energy that was causing his paralysis and it actually worked as he started to speak. "I…I don't know anything!" He yelled as he tried to escape.

Hiei however grabbed him by his tail and had a most cruel look on his face. "Yes, perhaps you need something to refresh your memory." He got a good beating before he spilled the details of the fighters that Yusuke was dealing with back at the arena.

"Sakura, this could take some time. Let Hiei have his fun. Shall we sit?" Kurama asked as he sat on the shoulder of the now tamed machine.

I smiled watching Hiei continue to beat the demon. "Poor fool doesn't know what he's gotten himself into." I said joining Kurama. "Remember not to kill him Hiei!" I called out from where I sat.

Time passed and we learned of what the doctor had planned. "How revolting…" I said to Kurama. "Those guys are innocent and Yusuke and them have no choice but to fight them…"

"Hiei," Kurama called out. "Perhaps you can have him reveal the whereabouts of their master." Kurama suggested and Hiei went back to beating the lizard. Or so he thought had the demon not been so terrified of the last, that he uttered more without so much as a command.

"He's in a cave not too far from here. Let's hurry so we can join Yusuke." He said nonchalantly.

I nodded with a smile and leapt off the robot. I followed Kurama and Hiei as they led the way. It was near the edge of the island that we found the cave and sure enough inside was a frail looking man who seemed to be dying of a sickness.

"Can you heal him?" I asked Kurama immediately knowing my healing would be of no use in this situation.

Kurama helped the man up. "With the proper herbs yes. Sakura can you go search for some."

I nodded. "Yeah, anything to help." Kurama gave me the descriptions of what was needed and I headed out. When I came back with what was needed, Kurama quickly put together a remedy.

"He will recover." Kurama stated. "We should head back to the tournament."

"We're on the other side of the island. How do you expect us to get there in time with the frail master?" Hiei brought up.

I looked at the demon he still held by the tail. "Do you think we can use the machine to travel?" I asked. "Kurama basically just short circuited the thing, but I could charge it so it could move us." I suggested. The two looked at me and nodded. It was worth a try.

I sent out my electrical energy into the machine and after a bit its eyes retained its glowing red color. I walked over to the barely alive lizard creature and stole his remote. "Give me that." I took it and started to mess with the buttons. Within seconds it was moving. "Success!" I said as both Kurama and Hiei got on. "How's that for being useful?" I asked Hiei.

"Will you just hurry up and get on." I laughed and joined Hiei on the shoulder that he was on. With the remote in hand we made our way to the tournament.

We made our way to the arena and Hiei and Kurama leapt off. "Enter through that wall, Sakura." Kurama instructed. "We have to take care of this vile creature and place the master somewhere safe." I nodded wondering if they were going to just throw him into the ring but I would ask later as I made the creature strike its way into the stadium.

Once I got past all the rubble and the dust cleared, I could hear a rather odd voice call out from the stadium. "My robot Gatasaburu! What's happened to you?"

I climbed up on its head from behind since I didn't want to be in front when it smacked through the stadium. "He's in my control, duh!" I said and both Hiei and Kurama had both landed on the machine's shoulders.

"Hey guys, you're late!" Yusuke called out to us.

"Sorry!" I said with a wave.

"The missing members of the Urameshi team have appeared as well!" Koto announced climbing her way into the ring. "Hiei and Kurama, can you tell us where you've been?" She asked.

"Sorry, a thirty foot killing machine wanted a word with us." Hiei said with sarcasm.

"M5 told us everything." Kurama said referring to the guy they had tossed into the stadium. "And we're relieved you three are still alive." I turned to see Yusuke and Kuwabara were fine…but the masked fighter…well he…was a she, but she was okay nonetheless. She had soft brown eyes and vibrant pink hair.

"The veruki on their backs are the doctor's source of their mind control." Kurama continued to explain. "And in their present state, I'm afraid it would be fatal to remove them. The three are completely innocent. They didn't know the implant would control them. They were told it was blood research. And that's not even the extent of it I'm afraid. It seems the doctor caused the illness of their master in the first place."

We all turned our heads to the nasty imp of a doctor as he seemed only to cackle at the revealing of his plans.

He explained how he didn't care and his only goal was to be able to have those fighters survive long enough to get Yusuke's body to experiment on him.

"That rotten-"

"Control yourself." Hiei warned me. Of course I wasn't the only one whose temper needed to be kept controlled. Yusuke and Kuwabara both angered by his words abandoned the fight and started to charge for the doctor.

"Now!" Hiei called out and both him and Kurama ran towards the ring but Koto intervened.

"I'm sorry guys, they already agreed on a three on three fight. Step in the ring now and your whole team forfeits." Koto explained.

"You're a heartless mess you know that?" I heard Botan call her. You tell her Botan!

I turned to see that Yusuke and Kuwabara had been knocked out by the three humans for attempting to take the doctor's life. They tried again, but the humans stepped in to block them.

"What are they doing?" I shouted. "Dammit I should just make this stupid robot kill the doctor myself!" I said slapping the machine. I was angry as I leapt off the machine and headed to where Hiei and Kurama were.

The doctor soaked in his so-called ingenious plan and it was sickening to have it be heard. He allowed them to attack Yusuke and Kuwabara, but only Yusuke retreated.

"Kuwabara run!" I shouted seeing that he was just standing there ready to take the blow.

"What is he talking about?" Hiei asked as Kuwabara had shouted out random tangents that didn't make sense to us who just showed up.

"This is not wise." Kurama stated on edge.

Within moments, their attacks connected and Kuwabara was sent flying out of the ring. Botan immediately went to see if he would be okay, thought I was doubting it since he had gotten three direct hits.

Yusuke was greatly angered by this and charged at all three alone. What seemed difficult, he made it look easily. He dodged each of their attacks and retaliated with a brutal hit.

As Yusuke fought, Hiei and Kurama made their way over to the doctor and I decided to follow.

"Fifty two point seven two five percent?" The doctor exclaimed.

"Percentages are for poker." Hiei commented.

"You can factor strength and stamina, I'll give you that doctor. But determining the true heart of a person is quite a different thing." Kurama told him.

"Buzz off, I must've just punched a wrong number. What's the delay you lab rats! Destroy him!" He instructed them.

"Ooh, how dare you speak like that to them!" I said ready to charge at the doctor but Hiei held me back.

"Don't bother. Yusuke is going to destroy him soon." I looked at the arena to see Yusuke was now in the air powering up for a spirit gun attack. This was going to be the end.

However, before Yusuke could fire, the masked fighter stopped him. The two of them landed safely back down on the arena and she proceeded to chant words I had never heard of nor knew the meaning. As a result though, she summoned a large tornado of energy.

"W-Wow…" I said admiring it from the sidelines. Regardless of the mass of energy, Dr. Ichigaki still commanded his fighters to attack which they did. However, whatever the masked fighter did, she stopped them in mid-air and then quickly stabbed them with her two fingers in the heart area.

The veruki contraption on their back exploded and were removed and the three collapsed to the arena. Suddenly I couldn't feel their spirit energy at all. The masked fighter had killed them herself?

With all three knocked out, Koto made it her duty to continue to count to ten and when she reached the last number, a win was secured for the team.

The crowed, as usual, jeered that Yusuke lived yet again. Man, they just wanted him dead no matter what the means. Yusuke didn't care as he was rather angry about the whole situation of the thing. He marched his way over to the doctor.

"Hey asshole! You know you're not walking away from this aren't you?" Yusuke shouted at the doctor.

Hiei and Kurama decided to sneak up behind him and I was going to follow until I could hear Hiei. _Go get the master and escort him out here._ He instructed me and I decided to do just that. I'm sure Hiei thought the doctor would try to use him as a trump card of sorts.

I went and got those young boy's masters and saw that he was fully awake now. "Here, let me help you." I said to him and helped support him up and I helped him walk over to Yusuke's group.

"But I'm the only person who knows where he's hidden and how to reverse his disease!" My ears heard the doctor's lame excuse of trying to stay alive. I saw Kurama point backwards in my direction to show Ichigaki that the master was in fact still alive and that his information was not needed.

"You evil man!" The master shouted at Ichigaki and I couldn't help but agree as I guided him closer.

"After seeing his symptoms, Kurama was easily able to make an antidote." Hiei explained.

"I've acquired a few poisonous herbs on this island as well. Care to try one doctor?" Kurama threatened.

"No need for that Kurama." Yusuke said. "You ready to die?" He asked.

It seemed the doctor, despite being surrounded, was still trying to escape his death. He pulled out a needle and started to spout off some science crap before he stabbed himself and injected himself with whatever fluids were in there.

The nasty little imp hastily transformed before everyone's eyes into a large dark green goblin like mess. Like his robot, his arms too could extend and easily hit others. "How unoriginal." I remarked as I helped move the master out of the way so he wouldn't get hit by Ichigaki.

I watched as now he only aimed for Yusuke and he managed to cause a scratch to Yusuke. Hiei was able to make it to Yusuke ready to protect him. However, Yusuke wanted to take this personally and he told Hiei this was his fight. Hiei quickly moved away reminding Yusuke not to die. You big softy.

_Call me softy again and I'll gladly slit your throat._ I heard Hiei and my eyes narrowed.

_Here I thought you were going to stop reading my thoughts._

_It's a work in progress._ I looked over at him and couldn't help but smile a little. I wonder how dumb I looked though smiling as Yusuke relentlessly beat Ichigaki and eventually sent him flying. "Good riddance!" I yelled out.

Though the boys had managed to secure a victory, it was rather bittersweet as those three innocent fighters had lost their lives as a result. I couldn't help but bow my head down in respect.

"Perhaps you should look before you grieve." I looked to see Hiei had made his way over to me. I looked at the arena to see that the three that had been knocked down, were up…and alive.

"They're alive!" I said shocked but with happiness. I watched as they reunited with their masters. "They're so happy!" I cheered as out of instinct I hugged Hiei. "This is great!"

I then realized what I was doing. My face felt red and I quickly pulled away from Hiei. "P-Put a shirt on!" I found myself yelling at him and my face was probably going to explode as I realized what I had said. I started to mutter more incoherent things as I made my way to farthest side of the arena. "Hiei's right…I talk too much."

After I calmed myself I thought that we would be able to get leave and rest up. But I was wrong. "May I have your attention please. The third round will begin immediately." I heard a female announcer and I looked at the screen to see it was Yusuke's team having to fight.

"What? Again?" I heard Hiei spoke.

I ran over to him. "You guys just fought!" I exclaimed. "They must be cheating!" I shouted at the demon fans who were excited that now the worn out Team Urameshi would be fighting again. They really had no choice.

A rush of wind swept over the stadium and out of nowhere the next team, Team Masho appeared. They each donned black robes with black pointed hats over them. This was really happening.

Team Masho's captain revealed himself as a gust of wind swept off his cloak. He was a red-haired demon with a horn on his head. He had a jolly walk about him as he made his went to the center and Yusuke followed suit.

"Jin has asked for a series of one-on-one matches with the advancing teams taking five wins and Yusuke gives the nod!" Koto announced the conditions the two captains set.

I watched as the crowd cheered. One-on-one…that wasn't so bad if someone could rack up two wins to make up for Kuwabara who was still passed out on the ground.

"May I have your attention please. The tournament committee will be instituting a medical examination before the next round. Due to the Urameshi team fighting without a rest and in accordance to section thirteen of the tournament index, report to the medical tent." The female announcer who had declared Yusuke's team to fight twice in a row was actually looking out for them now? Too good to be true.

"As long as they don't grab my balls and make me cough." Yusuke said with a shrug.

"You have such a way with words." I rolled my eyes at Yusuke as I spotted the medical tent that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Emerging from the tent was a female demon. She had long red hair and donned a nurse outfit.

I heard Yusuke seemed to be taken away and some other whistles from the crowd. Well this was just annoying, what was so great about her?

"Hello gentleman." She greeted the team and held out her hand as if she was scanning each member. She stopped at the masked fighter and Hiei. "Yes, you two fighters will follow me to the medical tent." I couldn't help but glare at her.

"Don't be ridiculous. We need no medical attention. Why don't you go nurse the fool lying on his back?" You tell her Hiei!

"Because his wounds do not interest me in the way yours do Hiei." She said with a smirk. "Maybe I can help you." She said as she headed to the tent and Hiei and the masked fighter followed.

"If I couldn't do it, what makes you think you can!" I yelled out.

"Something the matter, Sakura?" Kurama asked me regarding my outburst.

I crossed my arms and looked away. "I don't trust her, that's all." I watched from a distance as she seemed to be asking them medical questions. I was relieved when I started to see Hiei walk away and give her no attention whatsoever.

Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan with this team, as soon as Hiei and the masked fighter tried to leave, a barrier surrounded them and prevented them from leaving. I ran over to the so-called 'medical tent'.

"Dammit, what's happening to them Kurama?" Yusuke asked as he followed me.

"It's a force field." Kurama explained.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" I pointed an accusing finger at the 'nurse.'

"Hey redhead, why do I get the feeling you're not a licensed nurse!" Yusuke called out after me.

"That's right Yusuke." She said completely ignoring me as she removed her nurse clothing. I stood back to see she was wearing nothing but yellow threads that barely covered her womanly features. "Enchantress is more like it. Ruka is my name and I'm regarded as the most talented creature alive in spell defense incantations." She announced.

"Give me my damn team back!" Yusuke yelled at Ruka.

"Didn't you hear the announcement Yusuke?" She started. "They're both very sick. They're going to need a little time recover." She said.

I stood there in disbelief. "Does recovery only come from lack of clothing?" I seethed under my tongue.

"Ahha, perhaps if you were more of a woman, you could be able to control Hiei as I am with my abilities to hold these two fighters back." She taunted me.

"WHAT!" I screeched. I could feel my energy start to emit from anger. "Why don't you say that to my fist." I said angrily.

"Such a violent temper from a _girl._" Ruka said.

I would've launched at her had Kurama not held me back and have Yusuke drag me away. "Let me go! Where in the damn rules does it say I can't slit her throat to pieces!" I yelled as I flailed about.

"Jeez, she just had to get Hiei's girl riled up." Yusuke exasperated.

"Don't make me turn on you too Yusuke!" I yelled at the comment I had reminded him many times not to say. "She's just contributing to their damn rules! I am not angry over anything else!" I yelled.

"Hiei and the masked fighter have been ruled unfit to fight. They will sit out for the duration of the round while they are suitably treated." The announcer came on and declared the new ruling for this round.

"Cheating bastards!" I yelled.

"I'll say!" Yusuke agreed as he jumped into the ring to confront Koto about what was going on.

Koto swore that she was neutral, and there was no choice but to fight under these stupid conditions. Especially when another member of Team Masho revealed themselves onto the ring and ready to fight. He was a pale, sickly looking demon and the only color on him was the green bandana he wore.

Yusuke was ready to fight, but Kurama stopped him volunteering to take as many matches as he could before Yusuke stepped in.

_Don't die, Kurama._ I told him as Yusuke got off and Kurama was ready to fight against his opponent called Gama.

It was a strange fight as the once pale demon started it off rather early by painting himself with bizarre markings referring to it as his own personal type of 'make-up'. It's like his body was pale because he used himself as a canvas.

Whatever that make-up stuff he put on, it greatly benefited him as his body glowed a vibrant red and he seemed to get stronger. He immediately started to attack Kurama, but Kurama was able to dodge each move.

Despite the fact that it looked this was going to be another easy win for Kurama, something was wrong. Kurama looked like he had dodged all of Gama's attack, but at one point during the dodging, Gama managed to put paint on Kurama's lower left ankle.

I couldn't believe it when he said that Kurama could no longer move just because of that artsy crap.

"Let me get this straight, you can't move your body that gets marked up by that junk?" Yusuke asked.

"Looks like it." I said seeing that Kurama's left leg was now unable to move. Now what was going to happen?

The fight suddenly became a nightmare as the rest of Kurama's body was being confined by the stupid paint like substance. He was completely immobile. "This…can't be good." I said as I watched Gama ready to make the final blow now that Kurama was at his mercy.

"Kurama!" I yelled, but there was no need. Before Gama could finish the fight, he was the one who had been severely hurt.

My eyes blinked at the sight I had just seen. Gama was severed by Kurama's rose whip alright, but that wasn't what caught me off guard. It was the fact that Kurama had wielded his weapon with just his head and hair. The whip was wrapped around his hair, but he was still able to maneuver it.

Gama collapsed and his blood was oozing out onto the stadium. It was over, but Kurama still couldn't move. I listened as Kurama told Gama he was going to spare his life if he freed Kurama from the curse of his paint, but instead Gama got up and moved around. He just made his blood spill everywhere. What an idiot fighter, I thought. He was basically killing himself.

He collapsed over, but I could hear his last words. His paint was made with his own blood. He was going to die, but the blood that had been spilled on Kurama was a last resort. Kurama's energy was now sealed and could not be used.

A win for Team Urameshi…but how was Kurama going to last in the next fight?

The next member came onto the arena and his cloak was taken off and revealed the next fighter. He seemed young and had blue hair with strands of green sticking out.

"It's Touya, the master of ice. Get him out of there Yusuke!" I could hear Hiei say from the tent. That wasn't a good sign…

Kurama couldn't move and Touya was ready to fight. "Damn this is wrong." I heard Yusuke seethe.

Kuwabara too complained and Botan tried to comfort him as he still had his own injuries to deal with. Of course, I couldn't help but agree with both of them. This wasn't fair. Someone was out to get them. But who?

"_There you are Sakyo."_

I stood still as my ears tuned into the crowd to search for a familiar voice. _"How do you like that medical tent scheme I came up with?"_

"What?" I yelled out into the crowd. I scanned it fervently. So it was the old man's fault?

_Something the matter?_ I heard Hiei's voice in my head.

_Nothing, soon as I find that geezer and kill him._ I said not turning my attention away from the crowd. And there, I spotted him. He was talking to another human but he wasn't my concern. I gripped my fists and somehow found myself walking in that direction.

_Sakura, stop. You know you're not allowed to kill humans. Besides what good will it do killing him now? The rules have already been set._ I turned to Hiei who had communicated this all to me.

_But you're stuck in there and Kurama's having to go another round because of him…and you're one to talk! You nearly killed Tarukane that one time!_ I reminded him. The situations to me were no different.

"What are you looking at?" I looked to see it was Ruka who was talking to me. "Staring and wishing for something you can't have?" She waved her hand at her figure.

I yelled vigorously at Hiei. "Not to mention I want to chop his head off for hiring someone like her!" I said waving furiously an accusing finger at Ruka.

"Jealously isn't the best expression for you dear," Ruka chuckled.

"Maybe I'll rip your head off instead!" I shouted as I angrily walked back over to Yusuke. Stupid grandfather, stupid enchantress. "STUPID TOURNAMENT!" I yelled shocking Yusuke.

"Hey, the match is starting, shut up!" He yelled back at me and turned his attention to the fight. I decided to calm myself and watch the fight as well.

Touya started the fight by completely freezing the arena and though he had set up a 'wall' to prevent Kurama from escaping, the cold air still managed to escape out to where we stood.

"Whoa, it's cold." Yusuke said with a shiver.

I nodded, also shivering. "S-So c-cold." It was worse than the time we faced Seiryu.

Kurama had stalled for as long as he could, because Touya was prepping for an attack. Just as he launched shards of ice he called 'shards of winter', Kurama had regained mobility. "Move!" I shouted, but he was a little too late as some of the attack did manage to connect.

Kurama spent most of the fight dodging as he couldn't use any of his energy. It was awful having to watch him be knocked down. "Tell fox girl you'll give up! I swear I'll take it from here!" Yusuke would tell Kurama and I just wish he would listen.

"I can't watch." I said turning around and running over to the tent.

"What the hell's wrong with you Kurama?" I could hear Yusuke shout and turned to see Kurama struggling to get up. "Kurama don't get up! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

I covered my ears but I knew that was useless. "Strange, almost as if Kurama's taking this fight personally." I heard Hiei remark.

"He shouldn't die over it!" I told Hiei but he was affixed to the fight. "If I have to see someone I care about die one more time…" I quickly wiped away my tears. "This is all your fault!" I yelled at Hiei using anger to hide my fear. "You just had to hurt yourself with that darkness technique and now your arms hurt and you're stuck in here and Kurama's getting beat up and this stupid Ruka keeps insulting me." I wailed towards the end of my accusation.

Hiei let out a sigh. "You really are hopeless." _You underestimate us both greatly. Neither of us have died yet._

It was my turn to sigh at Hiei. _I've never underestimated either of you. Unlike you, I'm not afraid to admit that I worry about you guys. I told you…you're…very important to me._

I didn't get to see what Hiei was going to say as I heard Koto begin to count. I turned around to see who was knocked down. To my great relief it was Touya. However he started to get up towards the end. I ran over to where Yusuke stood. "K-Kurama won?"

"Not just yet…" Yusuke said in apprehension over Touya beginning to get up.

"Eight…Nine…TEN!" Touya had stayed down. Kurama had won, but he slipped into consciousness.

"Get him out of there Yusuke." I said as the scoreboard change.

Yusuke nodded. "Hey, fox girl just so we're clear, the rest of the fights are all mine!" Yusuke declared.

"Not so fast!" Another member of Team Masho entered the arena. He was an ugly brute. Tall and built in muscles. He was tanned and had short brown hair. "You forgot something. He's standing in the ring." He pointed to Kurama.

"Oh give me a break! Kurama's not even conscious in the ring!" Yusuke complained.

The announcer, who had set all the rules and conditions for the fights thus far, went off. "Correction, the next fight will be Kurama versus Bakken!"

The crowd was cheering over the ruling. "Dammit, Hiei, you should've let me gone after my grandfather." I said hoping to find him among the crowd again. "This isn't going to turn out well at all!"

-x-

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed reading and leave a review! Oh and for those wondering, Sakura's summon is similar to that of the dragon where she uses energy. However, you'll find out later it's much trickier to summon and not nearly as strong as the dragon considering it doesn't want to consume and or do damage to Sakura after the attack.


	11. Murder

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: And now the next round in the Dark Tournament!

-x-

Due to stupid circumstances, Kurama was now left facing Bakken. I felt like I was going to be sick to my stomach.

He beat on Kurama mercilessly treating him like a punching bag. I was afraid it would keep going, but to my surprise, Koto had stepped in to try and stop the fight. It was of no avail as Bakken picked her up quite easily and threw her out of the ring.

"Hey! Didn't you hear her?" I shouted at him.

He ignored my plight and proceeded to pick up Kurama ready to deal the finishing blow. I looked over at Yusuke ready to fire his spirit gun, and I too decided to hold out my palm ready to form a torrential shot should Bakken do anything stupid. However, there was no need. One of the members of Team Masho had instructed Bakken to stop.

There were exchanges of words before Bakken turned around to see Yusuke, and me ready to launch an attack. He scoffed before throwing Kurama out of the ring.

"Well we can all agree Kurama will be staying out of the ring. Just change the blasted board already!" Koto announced and I saw the change on the scoreboard. I was never so relieved to see a lost for our team.

"Yusuke carry him to the side. He's officially out now so it should be okay for me to heal him." I said and Yusuke agreed and picked Kurama up.

"Your friend got a lucky reprieve." I could hear Ruka remark.

"So did you, witch." I heard Hiei reply. _You tell her!_ I told him and somehow I could just feel as if he was rolling his eyes at me.

Yusuke placed Kurama down and he got up with a seething look at Bakken. Team Masho was going to be in a lot of trouble now that Yusuke was angry. Bakken didn't seem to realize this as he taunted him. As Yusuke entered the ring I took the opportunity to heal some of Kurama's minor wounds before he could wake up to them.

"Give him hell, Yusuke." I commented quietly, knowing he could most likely hear me.

I looked at the fight as I continued to heal. Bakken was starting to sweat profusely and he had the stupidest look on his face. Suddenly I could feel his energy as it started to come out from his sweat and transform into a mist that enveloped the stadium. I could barely see Kurama in front of me.

"This is just disgusting…" I remarked to no one in particular. I pinched my nose as I used one free hand to heal. "And it smells too! Hurry up and beat him Yusuke!" I yelled out loud.

Not being able to see the fight was one thing, but having to breathe someone's sweat was an entirely different problem. At least I could still hear the match going on. Yusuke's lack of being able to see was definitely an issue as I could hear Bakken landing continuous punches to Yusuke. I would have been worried had I not heard Yusuke chuckling and explained to Bakken how weak he was.

"He better be weak Yusuke…or you should shut up because you're starting to sound cocky." I remarked. Despite that, I still had faith in him to avenge our friend.

_That's Yusuke for you._ I could hear Hiei and I looked in the direction Hiei was in.

_True. How are you holding up? Is what the masked fighter said true? You're starting to recover? _I asked Hiei with concern.

_I am. How's the healing going with Kurama?_ He asked me back.

_The minor wounds are taken care of. As for the plant he grew within himself, I imagine only he can remove it himself._ I finished healing up the minor wounds. _It's funny…I think this is the first civil conversation we have had._ I chuckled a little.

_Probably because you talk too much._ Hiei jeered, but before I could say anything, I heard Yusuke say his trademark attack and I could feel his spirit energy being launched like a bullet.

"You just fired in the wrong direction!" I heard Bakken yell.

Yusuke had missed, but that wasn't his plan as I noticed the mist began to clear away after his attack connected with some part of the stadium area. The smell was much more noticeable though. Thanks for that Yusuke.

"A brilliant strategy by Yusuke. He used the force of his spirit gun to blow the mist away out of the stadium!" Koto announced.

"Let me explain what's about to happen." I got up from where I had sat since I could do no more for Kurama until he was awake. Yusuke was behind a shocked Bakken. "You have two real options here. You can turn around and let me beat the crap out of you or you can get on your hands and knees and start begging, and maybe, just maybe I'll listen."

Bakken turned around clearly insulted, but Yusuke gave him a hard hit. "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" I shouted in enthusiasm.

Bakken keeled over the hit and sat down asking Yusuke to stay away from him. "Just have some mercy on me!" He called out.

"Right, mercy, like the way you keep beating Kurama to the floor." Yusuke explained.

"No, it wasn't like that!" Coward! Now he was making up stupid excuses to prevent a beatdown from Yusuke. It was embarrassing when he started to whine like a baby.

Yusuke couldn't help but feel pity as he walked up to the guy. It was all a ruse as Bakken had grabbed some of the rings rubble and smacked Yusuke on the head with it. Yusuke was just fine however. Must be due to that big head of his.

"Cheer up Bakken, your brain's just small. It's not your fault you can't remember all those things you did to Kurama. So I'm going to refresh your memory by using your body as an example!" Yusuke exclaimed.

Yusuke then started to beat on Bakken viciously. That guy didn't have a chance. This win was in the bag.

My ears tuned into the familiar sounds of Kurama. I bent down to see he was waking up. "Kurama, how are you?"

"I've been better. I've seen you taken liberty to heal me a little. Thank you." I nodded and was relieved to see he was finally up.

Bakken was out of the ring by Yusuke's last hit, and Koto started to take a ten count. I don't see why she bothered considering he was out and Yusuke was the winner.

Yusuke stepped out of the ring and walked over to where Kurama and I were. "How are you doing?" Yusuke asked Kurama.

"I'll survive." Kurama answered him. "Sorry I couldn't finish the first three of them as I had planned." He remarked.

"Shut up." Yusuke said with a slight chuckle. "How are the wounds?" He asked. "Looks like you did a pretty good job with most of the smaller ones, Sakura." He seemed more relaxed knowing that Kurama wasn't hanging by a thread

I gave Yusuke a thumbs up. "Well it's not my specialty but anything to help."

"The injuries are nothing compared to this death plant." Kurama reminded us. "It will take a great deal of energy and concentration to remove it. I suppose we really do reap what we sow."

"Listen just get some rest okay? These last two guys are going to be fish meat pretty soon." Yusuke instructed. "Sakura can help out as well." And I nodded in agreement.

"Be cautious Yusuke." Kurama warned him. He started to go about the remainder of Team Masho. I had to agree that Yusuke was going to have his hands full after hearing Kurama talk about its members. I doubt the last two were as stupid as Bakken was.

Yusuke got back into the ring and I gave some of my energy to Kurama to use so he could remove the plant faster. That was all I could do. Once that was done, I got up and headed over the tent. Hiei and the masked fighter were still trapped, no change in that. But something was different. Hiei was moving his arm with better ease.

_Is…her energy actually helping you heal?_ I asked not wanting Ruka to hear but I'm sure she noticed it.

Hiei just nodded. I guess my face had a frown on it as Hiei addressed it in my thoughts. _What's with that look? You would think out of everyone you would be overjoyed considering how much attention you have been giving it._

_Well yeah…but it's stupid that she's doing something good when she's the one who trapped you in the first place._ I explained. It was just stupid…I felt like it was frustrating as well.

_Leave it alone. You're not meant for healing. Though you're not meant for fighting either. _I wonder if that was Hiei's lame attempt of consoling me. Well…it failed. It just made me feel worse.

"What are you staring at?" Ruka asked me.

"Don't talk to me." I seethed as I turned to watch the fight with Yusuke and Jin begin underway. But…he wasn't ready to pound him into the ground. He was laughing with Jin. "W-What's going on?"

Jin began to display his 'windmaster' powers as he floated off of the ring and Koto declared the beginning of the fight.

She announced that Jin had dodged Yusuke's attempt of a punch and shot straight up into the air. I looked up at the sky and he quickly became a small dot in the sky. Jin seemed to disappear after Jin's comments and it wasn't long before he made a straight dive using the sun as a means to not be seen right away. At last minute, Jin swerved away from Yusuke.

"Man…you're in trouble." I thought as Jin was moving around at rapid speeds. That momentum must've helped a lot as Jin finally landed a hit on Yusuke.

Yusuke was obviously at a disadvantage with Jin being able to fly around. I was starting to think if he really could win all of this. Jin came in ready to land another hit on Yusuke and another punch was dealt, but at last minute Yusuke swung his leg at Jin, only to miss.

Koto announced Yusuke's strategy at taking a hit to try to knock out Jin, but of course he failed. The demon fans didn't seem to mind though. Jin was back into the air and he began to swing his arms around in an increasing speed fashion. Within moments, a mini tornado seemed to engulf his arm.

He dived right for Yusuke and I saw that Yusuke dodged but the force of the wind still managed to blow him away towards the concrete. Luckily for him, he caught onto the edge in time but Jin was relentless as he was ready to strike another blow. Yusuke dodged again.

"Come on Yusuke! Stop dodging and do something already!" I yelled.

I'm not sure if he heard me, but he did do something. Jin wasn't getting another chance to form a tornado because Yusuke charged at full speed and began to launch a barrage of punches at Jin. The two started to move so fast it was hard to just follow their movements. I couldn't tell if hits were being made or not.

I went over to where Botan and Kuwabara were sitting to see if they knew what was going on.

"Kuwabara you can follow their movements right?" Botan asked as if she had read my mind.

"Um, yeah I'm spiritually aware." He said uncertain.

"Good, you can inform me." Botan motioned.

I nodded. "Yes, Kuwabara, why don't you show off that spiritual awareness power?" I had a feeling I wasn't going to get much from him.

"You mean right now?" He looked uneasily at us. "Well they're just…they're both punching each other rapidly." He said bluntly.

My eyes narrowed. "That's very perceptive." Botan rolled her eyes at Kuwabara while I made my way closer to the ring to see if I could get a better view of what was going on.

When I made my way back I could see that Yusuke was ready to land the final hit on Jin. It would have probably kept Jin down for quite a bit…if he had made it. At last minute Jin flew right back up into the air.

I guess Jin was taunting Yusuke, which was the perfect moment for Yusuke to shoot his signature move. His spirit gun was heading right for the red-headed demon and it didn't look like he was going to dodge in time. I quickly found out, he didn't need too as he created a much bigger tornado that repelled the spirit gun in the opposite direction.

The crowd erupted in cheers for Jin as he was clearly having the upper hand in this fight. I headed over to the tent deciding to check up on Hiei and ask if Yusuke even had a chance.

"Back again sweetheart?" Ruka asked me and I completely ignored her.

"If Yusuke's spirit gun isn't going to work, is there a chance for Jin to win at all?" I asked Hiei.

The masked fighter answered me instead. "Yusuke's spirit gun should not be completely useless against Jin. There is one way, but it will be dangerous." She said.

Hiei nodded in agreement. "Don't have to worry about Yusuke being afraid at least. Risking his life is his only constant strategy he has." He remarked.

"He can't afford to risk his life just yet." I frowned turning around to see what was happening now in the fight.

Jin had formed another tornado and was making a jet dive for Yusuke once more. If Yusuke was going to keep dodging at one point he was going to get exhausted and the fight would surely end with a victory for Jin. But that wasn't the case.

"What are you doing?" I shouted. My eyes widened to see that Jin was getting closer and Yusuke stood his ground without even trying to defend himself.

"Now I understand." Hiei said referring to no doubt the masked fighter's comment. "So if he fires his attack point blank into Jin's tornado," Hiei started.

"The energy will be caught in the wind current as it ignites and surrounds them in the blast." The masked fighter explained.

Damn, that was really risky. I looked to see Yusuke had his hand positioned ready to fire at Jin, and within moments, he did just that. "Spirit Gun!"

There was a loud explosion and dust everywhere. I couldn't see a thing. Koto's announcement that neither fighter was present in the ring worried me.

"At least you tried." I heard Hiei and I looked up to see that Jin was still in the air.

"Okay, where's Yusuke." I looked around to see the detective had been sent flying not too far from the medical tent. He got up with a grumble it seemed.

"I thought I was crazy Urameshi, but you take the prize!" Jin shouted from the skies. "The hell was that? You don't make bombs go boom in your face!" It was almost like he was chastising Yusuke and I wanted to chuckle a little bit.

"Dammit, one of us should have at least died." Yusuke complained.

"He's no amateur opponent." Hiei reminded him.

"I'm not saying he is but that was a clean shot!" Yusuke wailed as if he completely forgot he was in a battle for our lives.

"Yes, but Jin saw your strategy in the last moment and took evasive action. Rather than guard himself, he tilted the airstream sending most of the blast upwards. Probably saving both of your lives." Hiei explained.

"Wow, you're lucky Yusuke." I remarked.

"So he's funny and smart. That hardly seems fair." He continued to complain.

"As a shinobi, he has much experience. A simple trick won't beat him. I hope you have move extensive plans." Hiei pointed out to Yusuke.

"Aw, come on it's Yusuke here. I don't have a clue!" He laughed and poked fun of himself. As true as it was, it wasn't the right time to point it out.

"We're all going to die." I let out a sigh at Yusuke's easygoing manner.

"You might not be so proud after your defeat." Hiei commented.

"Shut up! Something always comes to me at the end!" Yusuke reasoned.

Hiei chuckled a little. "Well yes, even a fool has to admit a certain truth to that, Yusuke. So be as reckless as you want to. If you get killed I'll be taking your spot in the next fight anyways." Hiei said with a determined look on his face.

"What?" Yusuke questioned.

"Please even if you could escape me, it's illegal to return after you've been ruled unfit to fight." Ruka said with almost a haughty attitude about her that irked me to no end.

"Illegal?" Hiei started. "Listen Ruka, my power has nearly returned and I'm going to fight. Anyone who says otherwise, well, I think you know the rest." Hiei threatened.

"You truly have a way with woman, Hiei." The masked fighter said sarcastically.

I shook my head with a sigh. She was right about that. Though…the scared look on Ruka was priceless.

"What are you looking at?" She seethed at me. "Your little boyfriend there can only talk big as long as he's behind my force field."

"B-Boyfriend?" Oh, I was so tired of this! "Listen you little red-headed witch! I've had enough of you! First you trap my friends, you insult me and dammit I'm so tired of seeing barely anything cover you up!" I quickly got up in her face. "You know, if Hiei does pull off some illegal move, I'm going to quickly join him starting by ripping that smug look off your face!" I shouted. "We are going to win, so I suggest you back off before I decide to kill you after this whole thing is over!" She promptly backed away from me and didn't utter a single word.

I let out a huge sigh. "There, I felt better!" I said with a grin to my face.

"Perhaps you've been associating with Hiei too much." The masked fighter said to me. "You're beginning to make threats like him." I couldn't help but blush a little at the comment that someone I barely knew seemed to notice I was hanging around Hiei a lot.

"Well…don't most people lash out if they get pushed too much?" I said with a forced chuckle.

"Heh, let her be. Sakura, does whatever she sees fit for her." Hiei remarked and I smiled a little more.

I nodded at his comment. Yes around him, I could be myself through and through. My thoughts did linger on what Ruka had mentioned about calling Hiei my boyfriend. You think after the threats he made at her, she would realize Hiei…was awful boyfriend material. At that thought I couldn't help but burst out into laughter.

"Have you decided to go mad?" Hiei asked noticing my sudden outburst. So, he really did stop reading my mind.

I shook my head. "It's nothing." I said with still a light chuckle. I turned around to see the ongoing fight.

Jin had formed two wind tornadoes this time around and Yusuke was back in the ring. It was odd though as Yusuke had a most peculiar stance about him. "What's…going on?" I asked noticing Yusuke's body glowing and his spirit energy seeming to increase.

"You might not be needed after all." Genkai said towards Hiei. I turned around. "Yusuke's spirit gun channels his energy through his index finger. This technique however channels energy throughout the entire body. From what I understand, he never quite perfected this technique with master Genkai." She explained.

I turned to Yusuke's fight. What technique was he hiding up his sleeve this time? The two were going to give it their all I noticed after Jin dived with both tornado fists in hand. Ready to land his hit, he was quite surprised when Yusuke stopped the first punch with his bare hand. He shoved it away diminishing the attack to nothing. Jin was going to be in for it!

Jin reminded Yusuke that there was one more. He was ready to strike again, but Yusuke managed to block it with a kick. Both of his attacks were rendered useless! Yusuke called out 'spirit wave' before he landed a hit right onto Jin's abdomen sending him flying sky high.

I looked up and I honestly couldn't see where Jin was. I was silently hoping that Jin didn't use his wind abilities to cushion the blow, but you couldn't really tell when there was nothing to see. Within moments Jin was spotted…crashing for the stadium. "Yes!" I shouted as he hit the stands hard causing many demons to flee or be killed on the spot.

"Impressive." Hiei remarked. "I'd like to fight this Genkai someday." I rolled my eyes at his one track mind as I ran closer to the ring.

"Detective boy wonder! Good job!" I exclaimed as Koto began to count. I watched where Jin was laying and noticed he got up about halfway through the count. When Koto reached closer to ten, he staggered up, but only to crash completely at the final count.

"Onto the next fight!" I cheered loudly. I couldn't help but cross my arms with a smirk. "See that grandfather? Cheating gets you nowhere!"

The final team member, Risho, stepped into the ring. "One more Yusuke!" I cheered despite the demons in the background protesting. One more and everything would be okay.

My positive outlook quickly changed when I heard my grandfather's voice…talking to the final team member. I looked around and I could see him, just barely, sticking out of the entrance from Team Masho's side.

The two exchanged words and I guess my grandfather wasn't pleased with the results the team had been putting out. Good. But then, Risho's comments worried me. My grandfather…pulling more strings? My worry quickly faded into anger. I get it. This whole entire time, my friends were all struggling…because of his no good dirty tricks. He most likely was their team's sponsor, but that didn't mean he could use the dirty tactics he had been trying.

Koto declared for the fight to begin and I knew that Yusuke just had to win once more to put my grandfather into place.

"Stop this fight immediately!" Yusuke completely fell over mid-charge at Risho. We all listened intently to the announcer's message. "Upon reviewing the contents of the first fight, Koto delayed her ten count significantly after Yusuke's first ringout." I heard Botan raged, and even Koto the announcer seemed confused. "Then by unanimous decision-"

"They tell me to delay." I could hear Koto say and I was starting to become very angry. They ruled that Yusuke could no longer fight.

"Well that's just the biggest crap job I've ever heard in my life!" Botan exclaimed furiously and she had every right to.

I looked over at Risho wanting to give him a punch or two since he was teaming with my grandfather who, now without a doubt, was pulling out all the stops.

Touya from the previous fight seemed to recover somewhat as he staggered his way into the ring. I was surprised when I heard him try to convince Risho to stop the cheating as it wasn't right. It was a pleasant surprise amongst all the rage that I was feeling within me. However, that was cut short as Risho mercilessly knocked aside his already injured teammate.

Risho turned his attention to Koto who seemed still dazed by the whole situation. The whole stadium was. Apparently they always delay the ten count. He didn't care. He continued to threaten her, but Yusuke stepped in.

"Detective, don't waste your time trying to change their mind." I turned to see Hiei was releasing a large amount of energy. "Fight by their meaningless rules and you'll be pulled down with them. There is only one real law of the dark tournament. The strongest man prevails." The energy was strong as it blew Ruka away and I even felt a slight push back. "I've retrieved enough energy to rip my way out. Let's show this stadium a new definition for victory." Hiei was harsh, through and through.

Yusuke seemed to agree though. "They're going to kill us anyway, so let's take on every damn freak until no one's left. Sounds good to me. I'm already about to go off." He said. You and me both Yusuke.

Ruka fell completely back. "I can't hold him back any longer! The enchantress chords holding him back are ripping apart! A couple of more minutes like this and there won't be any more left!"

I looked at Ruka and it was my turn to smirk as she was on the ground while I was only being slightly pushed back by Hiei's attack. Couldn't really tell if I was able to withstand it a little or because Hiei was intentionally directing it away from me. Ruka didn't have to know.

Koto however had no choice despite the threats Yusuke and Hiei were putting out. She began to announce that Yusuke was ineligible to fight and it looks like they were going to be booted out of the tournament.

I let out a frustrated yell. "Forget this!" I ran to the other side of Team Masho. "Butajiri you come back here you coward!" I yelled heading into the entrance. He was gone of course, but I was going to find him.

I passed some monitors that showed that Kuwabara had stepped in last minute but he was much too injured from the previous fight for Risho to actually take him seriously. The team was going to lose, because of my stupid grandfather.

I rounded the corner and by luck, he was leaving the committee room as I had expected where he would be.

He turned around to see me and began to make a run for it. "Hey, where are you going?" I shouted as I chased after him.

He was slow compared to me as I quickly grabbed him by his jacket collar and turned him around to face me. "I told you before, I was friends with them." I said referring to Yusuke and his team. "You should've known that if you messed with them, I would come around. I'm not supposed to kill humans, but I may just make an exception for you." I yelled. It was a very high crime for killing a human, but after what he did, it was just unforgiveable.

"Y-You monster. You're just like that tramp of a mother of yours!" He shouted in fear.

I felt my grip loose on his shirt collar now. "What…what do you know about my mother?" I asked. This had to be a bluff to stay alive.

"Heh, go ahead and kill me. See if I care. I always knew you were a monster. If only your father understood that, he wouldn't have died."

I shook him vigorously. "I didn't kill my father! Tell me what you know about my mother now!" I yelled at him.

"What I know?" He let out a menacing laugh. "Some stupid tramp name like Sayuri. A demon who seduced your father and brought about you. She must have been sickened by you as well since she dumped you to your father. I guess she had hoped he would suffer, but no he had to raise you as if you were actually a human child." He laughed in the face of death it seemed. "You're right, you didn't kill your father, but you might as well have. Your own kind sent me with a messenger to poison your father. All because you were alive!" He shouted at me, but he didn't get another word in as I punched him to the ground.

"You're the monster!" I yelled. "Y-You killed my father!" I was furious.

He got up, despite the bruise beginning to already form. "Didn't you hear? It was one of your filthy demon kind. I wouldn't be surprised if it was your mother who sent me the poison herself. Must have since she probably didn't want to see the likes of you. I had to poison him to break you down so you would be much easier to get rid of. You would've continued to live if he was still around. Because of you I had to kill my own son. You're the monster."

Tears started to form at my eyes, but I was still seething. No longer at my grandfather, but he was the only one I could take out my anger at. I gave him a good kick so that he rolled over quite a good amount of distance. "There is no excuse! You didn't care about your own son! I would've never killed my own child just to save my own sorry ass! You don't even deserve death!" I screamed. The anger I was feeling was all directed towards my mother. "You killed my father!" I screamed even though I knew she couldn't hear my accusation. "Get out of my sight." I warned. "I have a friend who is fighting for dear life right now. I need to be there for him. If we lose, I can assure you I will reveal who is at fault for all this and they will each pay you your pitiful due. And if you somehow manage to survive, then I hope my mother contacts you again. I hope she does so you can relay my message to her. I'm going to find her, and when I do, I will kill her with my own bare hands."

I walked away and returned back to the fight. I needed to let my anger subside. I didn't pay attention to anything around me. I don't think I made it back to the fight right away, I just wandered trying to calm myself down.

How could you though after you learned what I just had. I had to try anyway. I had to be there to cheer Kuwabara. It was the only way I could support the team anyway. I shook my head and tried to get a grip on myself as I made my way back to the stadium.

When I did, I noticed…the barrier of Ruka's was gone. Not only that, but Hiei looked shocked. I turned to see the scoreboard. Kuwabara…had won? But how?

Kuwabara jumped up and down over his victory on the stadium and with the scoreboard declaring his victory I noticed he ran over to a wall and my eyes widened. He made his way over there to talk to…Yukina! Hiei's sister! Great…

I turned to Hiei. No wonder he had that look of surprise. She was supposed to have returned to the demon world.

Seeing this victory was just what I needed though. It was what allowed my anger to temporarily subside. They won, they were moving onto the next round. I couldn't, no wouldn't…deal with my own situation right now. My friends' lives were on the line and they just made it through another round. Yes…I should be happy.

We all left and Kurama returned to the hotel to get some rest as well as the masked fighter. Kuwabara went off with Yukina to be healed, but I knew he was going to try to flirt with her. Yusuke and Keiko decided to go on a walk and I noticed Botan had followed shortly after they left. They all seemed to be in such high spirits.

I don't think I fit in quite too well. I excused myself and decided to walk to somewhere secluded on the island. I made my way to the edge of the island where I had first summoned…whatever I had summoned.

I tried to do I again. There were moments of silence. Nothing happened. I couldn't summon it again. I fell to my knees and pounded on the ground. Dammit, I had to. I had to get stronger and that technique was needed if I was going to face my mother. "Everything is your fault!" I yelled in frustration.

"Hardly." I was shocked and turned around to see it was Hiei. "What are you screaming and throwing a tantrum about now?"

I didn't look at him. "It's nothing."

"Finding out who murdered your father is hardly deemed 'nothing'" I looked at him with wide eyes.

"How did you know?" I then noticed the jagan eye behind his white sash glowed.

"I have to make sure you didn't go running off to do something stupid like the last time." He reminded me when I had left the arena during the last fight. "So, you have a killer in your family." He said with ease.

"You know, at first I was just angry at her for giving birth to me….for bringing me into this world. If I wasn't around, I don't think my father would have to have died. I knew I didn't kill him, so of course it was just a silly thought. I just thought…that maybe my existence broke him a little on the inside which is why he got sick. But it was all a lie!" I shouted and looked at Hiei directly. "She murdered him! All because of me. She murdered him to get to me! If I wasn't so intent on…wanting to get back at her…" I felt like I couldn't breathe. "…I'd probably end my life right now because of all the things I've done to the man who raised me."

"Are you done?" I looked at Hiei, now feeling angry. I knew he could be mean, but now wasn't the time. He didn't have to say anything at all. He could have just walked away if he didn't care. "Stop with the melodrama. What's done has been done."

"Y-You jerk!" I yelled and I was pushed to punch him in the face, only he didn't move at all. What was I thinking.

"Yes, taking your anger out on me will solve everything. Ending your life will make everything better. Don't be stupid. I've said before, if you want to find your mother and kill her, I could care less." He jeered at me and I really wish I did more than probably just tickle him with my punch. I wanted to beat him so badly for being so cruel…but those thoughts were stopped short when I noticed his annoyed face seemed to soften a bit.

"You're the one who said so yourself. You can be yourself around me. So don't go talking to me when you're being pitifully controlled by a few words spilled out. That's not Sakura. That's just someone being a puppet to what others want you to feel." I stood there in shock. "Do what you want to do. Go at your own pace, as Sakura."

I felt my hands become fists again. Not out of anger…but…out of aggravation. He was right. Going at my own pace…as my own person…with those words, I realized…I just wanted to cry.

I started to sob and I cried right on his chest as I beat him with my fists knowing he could take it. "It's all so stupid!" I cried out. "I don't want to die…I don't want to die! If I face her, I know I will. I want to get stronger, but I'm not like you or the others. I don't want to die…I just want to keep on living…for him…for me." I continued to sob and my fists had fallen to my sides.

He stood there, letting me cry not saying another word until I had no tears left to cry. I wiped my face and backed away from him. "I don't want to die…but I don't want her to live either."

"You can't have it both ways." Hiei finally spoke.

I looked at him and nodded. I knew that full well. He walked away. "If you don't want to die, in the events if you ever find her and fight, whistle."

I looked at his backside moving away. "Will you really come…if I whistle…?" I asked.

He stopped moving but didn't turn around. "I have to keep you alive don't I? I suppose I would in that event, even if it is a most revolting sound."

I sniffled but I ran up to him. "Hiei, I'm sorry I punched you." I said referring to earlier.

"That was a punch?" He insulted me.

I laughed a bit at his remark towards me. Hiei…had a natural talent about him to make me laugh. I was very thankful for him. He took me back to the hotel but then he went off to go about his own business. I didn't question it, since I think after my outburst, some alone time for myself would be nice.

At least I thought until I entered the hotel to see quite a clamor of noise. Kuwabara had just been beaten by his sister. I looked around to see Keiko, Yukina and Botan were there too. I walked over to Yusuke and couldn't help but notice the blue penguin like creature on his head.

"What are you staring at?" He asked.

"Nothing, just wanted to know who the cute little guy on your head is." I asked nonchalantly.

"That's Yusuke's inner self as a spirit beast!" Botan exclaimed.

I snickered a little. "Oh my gosh, you're so cute on the inside Yusuke! So does he have a name?"

"Puu!" It exclaimed as it landed cheerfully over on the table with all of the snacks.

"Cute name." I said watching it with a smile.

"There you are cutie, come to Keiko!" Keiko picked it up and I joined in with the girls fawning over how adorable it was.

After a bit Botan remarked the time. "Time flies when you're mocking Yusuke mercilessly." Shizuru commented and the others decided to leave. I got up as well and followed them out. We all had one last laugh as Puu had called out in the cutest of manners only to have Yusuke yell at us.

I headed back to my room with the girls. "Hey, kid, by the way you alright?" I looked up to see Shizuru asking me. In truth, not really, but after my talk with Hiei, I doing better.

I nodded. "I'll be okay. The tournament is the biggest matter here." I said acknowledging what was keeping me from going berserk in the moment. "By the way Yukina, what are you doing here at the tournament anyway?" I said finally getting a chance to talk to her.

"I heard of a tournament where strong demons gathered in the human world. I was hoping to search for my brother here." She remarked.

I took a step backwards. "L-Look for your brother? You don't say?" I said with a nervous chuckle. Oh man Hiei, what are you going to do this time, I thought to myself

-x-

I woke up much earlier compared to the girls and it was good thing I did because I heard people leaving the room next to us. I walked outside to see it was Kurama and Hiei. "Wait up!" I called out catching up to them. "Going to go watch the next match?" They nodded and I followed them.

At the stadium, we watched team Gokai Six versus Team Uraotogi. _Are you alright?_ I heard Hiei's voice as he watched the match.

_Hiei taking the initiative to ask about someone? _I heard Kurama spoke and I noticed a smile on his face which only caused Hiei to frown. _But I heard what happened, are you alright, Sakura?_

I nodded. _Yes, thank you two. I'll be okay. For now…let's just worry about the tournament._ I had every right to make that my main concern as Team Uraotogi won the match against Gokai Six with ease and speed. It was over quickly.

One of the members, Shishiwakamaru made a comment towards team Urameshi. "What an arrogant fool." Hiei said referring to him.

"Well, well look who it is. Guess you guys had the same idea as we did scoping out the competition for the semi-finals." I turned around to see Yusuke, Kuwabara, the masked fighter and Botan coming from behind.

"Had the same idea." Kurama explained. "The fight is over." He said much to Kuwabara's shock.

"That is unbelievable. I mean I can't believe we missed the entire fight just because I took a couple of extra minutes to brush my teeth." Kuwabara said. I doubt that was the reason.

"It was an impressive sight to behold." Kurama said.

"Though I'm sure minty, fresh breath was worth the delay." He turned to Yusuke. "What is that ridiculous appendage growing out of your head all about?" He asked referring to Puu.

"It's a puberty thing okay?" Yusuke snapped back. He addressed Kurama. "How's your wound treating you?"

"It'll be fine. I'll be fighting again tomorrow." He answered to my relief.

"Seems it's not as bad as you made us think." Hiei smirked.

"Compared to your energy lost, no I suppose it's not." Kurama bantered back.

"Oh you guys…" I said with a sigh.

"Hey, I got an idea you guys!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "Ask Yukina to use her healing powers! As soon as she touches you, you'll feel better than before! She's pretty too! She's actually partially here to look for her long-lost estranged brother. I'm going to help her look for him just as soon as we win this tournament!"

I looked at Hiei who had held his head down. Oh here we go…

"Yukina's brother. What a noble cause. We should assist her too Hiei." Kurama said to Hiei.

"Yeah you could even lend an eye." Yusuke added in.

Hiei growled at the two of them and probably me too for laughing a little. "Will you shut up!" Kuwabara was confused by our exchanges of words and laughter.

"Hello, what's your problem?" Yusuke's mood changed looking at the masked fighter. She didn't say anything but we all turned to see Toguro's team was directly opposite of us. The light mood from earlier had completely disappeared.

The team headed back to their room and I decided to head back to the hotel alone for some rest. "Don't get into any fights on the way back guys." I said with a wave goodbye. I smiled at Hiei lastly before leaving the room.

-x-

A/N: Semifinals are next! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and leave a review! Sorry there won't be a quick update for the next chapter. Finals are coming up, so I hope this will tide you over until then! Leave me reviews!


	12. Confession

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: And now the semi-finals in the Dark Tournament!

-x-

On my way to the hotel room, I was stopped by a tall, young looking man. He had brown hair and I would consider him quite handsome if he didn't have a blue pacifier in his mouth. "Yo, Sakura. Long time no see." He said to me when we made eye contact.

I took a step back. "Do I know you?" I asked hesitating. Given with the kinds of people around here, I was a bit wary.

"It's me, Koenma!" He said with a thumbs up.

"N-No way!" I said now looking around him. "Did you have a huge growth spurt or something?" I asked amazed.

"This is a temporary form I have taken while in the human world." He explained calmly, at first. "I look pretty cool right!" He said with a thumbs up again and I slapped my forehead in disbelief. "Anyway, I'm here to relay some news to you Sakura."

I straightened up as he was actually being serious now. "Okay, what's up?" I said looking up at him this time around. That would take some getting used to.

He looked at me with a stern gaze. "Your grandfather has passed away. Well…the correct way to phrase that is that your grandfather has been murdered."

I took a step back. "Whoa, Koenma! It…it's not what you think! Sure I may have given him a bruise or two, but I didn't kill him!" I said quick to defend myself. He stopped me with a raised hand.

"I am not accusing you Sakura. We already know who murdered him. Shortly after your confrontation with him, he was met with another member of his club, Sakyo, and Toguro, who killed him. Considering you are the last person on your father's side to be alive, I thought it was best that you should know."

I looked down at the ground. "…Oh." Was all I could utter. My grandfather…had been murdered. By the same guy who was going to kill my friends if they couldn't pull through this.

"Are you happy?" Koenma then asked me.

I looked up at him and thought about it for a second before I shook my head. "If someone told me that information a couple of months ago, I would have been…but no I'm not at all."

"Sad?" He asked out of curiosity.

"I don't feel sadness either. I honestly feel nothing towards that man. I guess I could just say it's a shame that I couldn't find out more information about my mother from him, and a pity that death was his last escape. After what he did to my father, I had planned to torture him much worse than death could ever do." I shrugged. "I suppose that wasn't meant to be. Thank you for telling me Koenma. I suppose hearing that is all very strange since I'm sure it doesn't make much sense." I said with a slight frown.

Koenma shook his head and patted me on my shoulders. "Not at all. It just shows you're a little more human than you let on. Complex emotions are part of human nature, or so I'm told. You should learn your roots before you go off hunting family members." He suggested and walked away.

I didn't know Koenma could be so insightful. Perhaps, it was the teen form of his speaking.

I was back at the hotel room alone and it wasn't until night fall that everyone came back. Well mostly everyone. I saw Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara. "Where's Yusuke and the masked fighter?" I asked.

Kuwabara looked around. "They're still at it? Sheesh, thought they'd be back by now." He said falling onto the couch. "Hey, I know! Let's play a card game!" He suggested.

Hiei ignored him as he walked over to the window and sat on the ledge. "Guess that's a no. Kurama? Sakura?"

Kurama nodded. "Sure."

I shook my head. "No, it seems too cheery of an event when it's going to rain." I remarked.

"What are you talking about?" Kuwabara asked looking out the window. "It was so bright out today, there's no chance of it raining." He said as he pulled out a pack of cards.

"You're wrong. There's going to be a thunderstorm. I can sense the change in static electricity." I remarked.

"Right, right half demon and such." Kuwabara said not paying attention as he got immersed into his card game already. Normally, I would get a little peeved, but the news of my grandfather still hung over my head.

It wasn't long before my prediction was correct. It had started to rain and with it brought the company of Botan and the other girls. They too decided to join in on Kuwabara's card game. I leaned against the wall as they all talked and hung out.

"Come join us Hiei, Sakura. We're practically family." Kurama said and directed it more towards Hiei.

"Kurama, don't make me rip out your precious voice box." Hiei seethed and continued to sit by the window.

I laughed. "No thanks Kurama." I shook my head. "I think I'm going for a walk." I said.

"In this weather? Won't you get sick?" Keiko asked.

I shook my head. "Don't worry about me Keiko! Besides I like this kind of weather." I smiled and headed outside.

_I'm surprised you'd rather go play in the water then card games. _Even out here I could still communicate with Hiei.

_I'm in no mood for that._ I responded back to him telepathically. _I am the lone survivor on my father's side of the family now._

_So you're going to go mull about in the rain._ He said with a tone that just made it seem like he was judging me with rolled eyes.

_No. There's something about storms…they're calming._ I said as I looked up at the sky as rain continued to pour and raindrops splattered my face.

_Hmm, perhaps they remind you of where you truly belong. In demon world there are storms everywhere._ He answered.

_Is that where you think I belong?_ There was no reply. I shrugged as I headed towards the cliffs by the sea.

"I wonder…" I started to summon a huge amount of my energy. Enough to trigger the lightning to strike me as it had before. "Come on…"

Slowly but surely, I could feel the power of the summoning from before. I could see everything was black, but I was still conscious just like before.

"You have summoned me…but for what purpose?" The lightning wolf had appeared.

"So…you only appear when there are storms?" I asked the spirit.

"And if there is sufficient power to summon me." It replied. "However, you have summoned me for no cause. I suppose appearing has enough to satiate your human curiosity. The next time you summon me without blood for me to shed, it will be yours that I go after. You are still weak." The spirit disappeared, but this time around I wasn't knocked unconscious.

I did feel a little dizzy, so I thought I should make my way back to the hotel. It was enough for me to know what I learned about the so called harbinger of the storms.

When I was back I saw that everyone had gone to bed, and I decided to join them as the semifinals were the next day.

-x-

Morning streaked through the windows and I woke up with a stretch. I looked around and noticed the clock. "O-Oh no, we're late!" I announced and looked to see the other girls were still asleep. "You guys?" I poked Botan, but to no avail. "Alright, I guess you guys can sleep some more." I smiled as I got up to go get ready quickly.

I headed outside and made my way over to the stadium, but stopped myself half way. "Oh wait…the semifinals are going to be held at a new stadium. Kurama said something about that…" I turned around. "I think…it's…that way!" I pointed to where my ears could tune in the most noise, and I ran in the direction I pointed at.

I made my way to the new stadium and rushed through the doors that slid open at my presence. Once on the other side, I saw the familiar demon fans and on the ring was Hiei in the middle of a fight…against some kind of bird man.

"Too bad you can't call on that little dragon." The fighter screeched in a most annoying voice. Hiei stood in the ring…and he looked like he was worn out.

I rushed over to where Kurama stood. "Sorry, I'm late…what did I miss?" I could hear my own voice sounding worried.

"This is Hiei's second fight. He swiftly destroyed Makintaro, and is now fighting against Kuro Momotaro. He's using a weapon that allows him to be immune to Hiei's attacks." Kurama explained. "We agreed to fight based on what names appeared on die that the other team possess."

"So…Hiei has just gone one fight after another?" I yelled as I watched him. "W-Where's Yusuke and the masked fighter?"

"They never showed up." Kurama said and he turned his attention back to the fight.

I looked over and Hiei's opponent was in fact unscathed. "Don't die Hiei." I muttered as all I could do was watch.

"Prepare yourself for the next Kuro Momotaro!" Hiei's opponent announced. He pulled a round like object from his belt and gave it a squeeze.

"Is this what you were talking about Kurama?" I asked seeing the smoke emit from the object and enveloping Kuro. Kurama only nodded. This couldn't have been good.

His wings from before disappeared and he started to become engulfed in fur.

"Now I'm protected with a third beast armor. The armor of the wolf!" He called out. He was hideous, but looked absolutely frightening. He showed off his claws and then moved incredibly fast to try and get a hit in at Hiei.

Hiei dodged at last minute, but I could tell it was close. Kuro moved quickly for another swipe, and this time he managed to scrape Hiei a bit. "Hah! I won't miss again." I really hated this guy's guts.

I noticed Hiei take a step back and so did Kurama. "I've never known Hiei to back away from a challenge." Kurama remarked.

"Well it does have a lot of teeth." Kuwabara seemed frightened by Kuro.

"I don't think I can watch this…" I murmured.

Hiei had used his foot to fling his broken sword into his hands. "If your sword didn't work on my beast armor, it sure won't work on the third!" Kuro exclaimed.

"I know. I really hate to use this attack. I find it devoid of any taste or artistry." Hiei explained. What was he planning?

"Well that's hard to believe. There's actually a move to barbaric for Hiei!" Kuwabara shouted out.

"Then it's probably going to be very messy." Kurama concluded. I didn't care as long as Hiei was going to come out of this match alive.

Kuro's wolf form lunged upward and prepared to attack Hiei. It didn't look like Hiei moved and Kuro moved so fast that after his initial move, the only thing I saw after was blood spewing everywhere. In minutes I saw Kuro was latched onto Hiei's shoulder. "That blood…it isn't…"

Within mere moments after the blood spewing had stopped, a black and blue fire erupted from Kuro's back. The energy from it felt the same as Hiei's darkness flame technique. It could only mean one thing.

"Sword of the darkness flame!" Hiei was alive! I smiled as he slashed at Kuro's and the body burned up to pieces.

"Now I understand. Hiei did summon the darkness flame from the pits of the spirit sword. Hiei transferred his energy into his sword to lure the darkness flame. It wasn't as strong but enough to pierce the beast armor. Kuro was dead before his teeth sank in. Ingenious." Kurama explained.

"I don't know about all this genius stuff. I do that all the time with my spirit sword and no one calls that genius." Kuwabara remarked. He then proceeded to pound the ring. "Hey wait a second! Were you saying back there that my spirit sword didn't have any taste or artistry?"

"Huh, of course I did." Hiei said coolly. The new announcer gave the win to Hiei and the crowd complained, of course. I watched as Hiei made his way over back to where we stood holding his hand over his wound from Kuro's teeth.

I ran over to him first. "Here, let me see that." I instructed.

"Hmph, have you forgotten you can't heal us in the middle of a round if we're still eligible to fight? And I do intend to fight regardless of this." He reminded me which was unneeded.

I nodded as I pulled out his scarf from the previous round that he gave to me. "That's why this will have to do for now." I wrapped it around him like a sling and tied it at the wound. "There." I smiled and then realized how close I was to him and promptly backed away. "Um…yeah, that should do."

"Hn, I can't believe you actually kept that." He said crossing his arms. "Perhaps you are useful to keep around after all." He said turning his attention back to the ring waiting for the next fight to be announced.

"O-Of course I am!" I responded in a late fashion and I held my cheeks feeling them getting warm. What was wrong with me? I was just overreacting to everything. Well a girl could get that way after seeing a dear friend of hers almost potentially get killed. Yes, that was it.

Shishiwakamaru of the other team rolled the die that Kurama had spoken of and the names read were Ura Urashima and Kurama. I looked over to see Kurama's opponent looked very much like a short imp version of Yusuke. Must have been the hair. Though I'm sure if I never knew Yusuke, I would have much more respect for him than this guy. He just gave off a bad vibe.

"Get him Kurama!" I shouted from where I stood. Both fighters were in the ring and Ura Urashima had a fishing pole in hand. As soon as Juri, the new announcer, started the fight, the two went at it as Kurama summoned his rose whip.

Neither side got a hit in, but man sparks were flying by the whip collisions. I didn't bother listening intently to Hiei as he tried to explain Kurama's tactics to Kuwabara. Though I did agree with him on what I caught. Kurama seemed like he could easily beat this guy. Which was why I was completely shocked when out of nowhere Ura Urashima's fishing line wrapped around Kurama and caused him injuries.

I don't know what happened but hearing Ura Urashima trick Kurama in some way well it was unimaginable and very irksome. "Why you little-"

"Control yourself." Hiei reminded me. "This match isn't over."

I grumbled but continued to just watch from the sidelines. Kurama had started to run and Ura Urashima was now on the offense. When they both came to a halt, Ura Urashima made some snide comment that he wasn't trying to hit Kurama at all. "What?" Like Kurama, I then noticed there was a barrier surrounding the arena made from the line he had been using to strike Kurama.

He was trapped inside.

"Damn, all the rules!" I shouted wanting to rip the barrier apart. "I am so sick of dirty tactics!"

"This is how the tournament and demons operate. Get used to it." Hiei retorted.

I huffed. "No! I refuse to believe that all demons are like that."

_Siding with demons now?_ I heard Hiei's voice in my head.

I shook my head slightly. _Not at all. Just after everything that's happened…I know there are good humans and bad humans. Surely it must be the same for demons._

_Hmph, you're becoming more human now._ _There is no good or evil when it comes to demons. We just exist. Nothing more._ He replied to me.

_Is that enough? _I asked him back and I thought I saw a look of surprise on his face but he never answered back. Perhaps it was a foolish question to ask Hiei.

Ura Urashima had pulled out a box of some sorts and an explanation saying the insides of the box would reverse the inhaler's age. The smoke quickly enveloped the arena but didn't come anywhere near us.

"Why isn't that stuff coming any closer? Is it scared?" Kuwabara asked.

"Really?" I raised my eyebrow at his question.

"Perhaps you don't understand the concept of a force field." Hiei shot back.

There was silence. Nothing could be heard or seen. It was absolutely frustrating to me. Suddenly I couldn't feel Kurama's energy levels and I started to panic. Even more so when I sensed an extremely strong presence in the ring. Yet somehow it was reassuring. _That energy is so strong and different…but it feels familiar all at once. Is this Kurama's demon form?_ I asked Hiei telepathically.

Hiei nodded. "It's all Kurama! Down to the last drop!" He exclaimed.

"But it's different somehow." Kuwabara remarked.

"Seems that fool he was fighting has turned him back into his demon form before he was tainted by you humans." Hiei explained. "Fifteen years ago, the spirit fox Youko Kurama was thought to be killed from a botched burglary. In desperation, he hid himself in your world using a human body to slowly recover his energy. He thought no one would find him. I did."

I then remembered the second time I met Kurama and Hiei in the forest clearing. I could only assume that Hiei and Kurama had met when they were fighting off the demon that had kidnapped me and that other girl Maya.

The smoke prevented anyone from seeing anything, but we could still hear. There were three voices that came from the smoke. A deep voice that had hints of Kurama in there, but was completely different. I could peg that for Youko. Another was Ura Urashima and of course a baby like voice could be heard. Juri the announcer was stuck in there so I guess she had reverted to a small child.

I don't know how long we stood there. Seemed like forever since we couldn't see anything. Eventually the smoke began to dissipate and my eyes widened at the figure present in the ring. It was definitely not Kurama. He had long wispy silver hair with grey-white ears and tail. He wore entirely white and had golden eyes.

"Kurama really is a fox thing! Gee to think I let him near my kitten…" Kuwabara remarked.

On the other side of the ring, Kurama's opponent was now a beast with a sword stabbed in it. This was definitely a confusing fight. I looked back at Youko to see he had turned back to just Kurama. Juri who regained her normal form called the fight a win for Kurama.

"This is great! The other team hasn't won at all! Is this really the semi-finals?" I chuckled.

Shishiwakamaru from the other side leapt into the ring and threw the die. The entire stadium waited patiently to see who would be up. The die landed on Shishiwakamaru's name and a free space on the other.

When Shishiwakamaru's name appeared, I suddenly heard a hoard of screeches. I looked into the stadium to see that he had brought fan girls. Lovely.

"Yes, you with the inferior face." Shishiwakamaru pointed to Kuwabara since anyone could fight from the Urameshi team.

"Huh you mean this one?" Kuwabara pointed to himself.

"Well of course. Who else would it be?" Shishi insulted. "You must be bored as the sideshow freak. Why don't you come and fight?" He asked.

"I'll show you pretty boy!" Kuwabara launched himself at the ring and failed to get on it properly.

"It seems Shishiwakamaru struck a sensitive chord." Kurama noted.

"Let me handle this. Shishi seems to be their strongest fighter." Hiei remarked.

"No, Onji could be unpredictable. Recover your powers for the final match." Kurama shot back.

"You're only deciding the order of your defeat." Shishi said casually which made me want to rip his head off.

"Kurama it's obvious you want to learn the secrets to that age reversal. We can't afford any priorities to rank above victory. You let me fight." Hiei ordered.

"Why are we even talking about it? This sissywakamaru punk just insulted me! He's mine!" Kuwabara shouted.

"You guys, this isn't really the time to be arguing." I started hoping to prevent this tiff from escalating any further.

"You stay out of this!" Hiei and Kuwabara shouted at me, to which I could only sweatdrop. So much for that plan. They were all really eager to fight. This was nuts.

"I will take this fight." Hiei stood firm.

"No it is mine." Kurama tried to cut in.

"I'm fighting him!" Kuwabara raged.

The three were shooting daggers at each other through their glares. Team Urameshi had lost it.

"Perhaps this can only be decided with a game of Janken." Kurama then offered the idea.

"Oh yeah, bring it on! I'm a rock, scissors, paper champion!" Kuwabara cheered.

"Janken, what the hell is that?" Hiei asked.

"Gee man you really didn't have a childhood." Kuwabara pointed out.

Hiei seethed at the comment. "I pursue strength! I do not have time for your trivial-"

"It's a human game. Scissors is beat by rock. Rock is beat by paper, and paper by scissors." Kurama interrupted him and explained the game to Hiei.

"Hmph, pitifully simple." Hiei said grasping the concept.

"So you ready to get beat?" Kuwabara taunted.

"Try me." Hiei challenged.

"Never played and already cocky. First timers can only use rock." Kuwabara tried to trick him.

I watched as the three prepared to play the game. They were really doing this. I wanted to fall over in disbelief. "You guys are letting luck decide?" I yelled but I was ignored as they were all trying to out-janken the other.

Kuwabara won, but Hiei remarked that he cheated so the three were going at it again. Unbelievable. After a flurry of papers, rocks and scissors, Kuwabara was able to win. Hiei wasn't too pleased as Kuwabara stepped into the ring. This was going to be an interesting fight.

Kuwabara summoned his spirit sword and I noticed Shishi had a transparent cape loosely adorned around him. That didn't seem to faze Kuwabara at all as he charged at his opponent with his spirit sword. He slashed away but Shishi dodged each move gracefully.

"Shishi can ready his every maneuver." Kurama commented.

"Well yeah…he's got no strategy." I said with a frown.

Kuwabara charged again but this time Shishi dodged by stepping on Kuwabara's head. It was obvious he wasn't taking the fight against Kuwabara seriously, and that greatly upset Kuwabara. He charged full force this time driven by his anger, but it was futile as Shishi leapt into the air and he proceeded to use that cape he had with him.

The cape wrapped itself around Kuwabara and I felt a strange energy emit from it. Soon Kuwabara had disappeared from the ring completely. Even Kurama couldn't sense his presence. Shishi went on to explain to Juri how it was going to transport Kuwabara anywhere. Of course, that was enough to convince Juri that Shishi won and Kuwabara lost.

"Unbelievable." I muttered.

Shishi rolled the die again and this time it was his team that got the free space and our team got the masked fighter.

"I'm ready to go again, how about yourself?" Shishi addressed our team.

"I said from the start I'd be the substitute. I just didn't know it would be this much fun. Assuming you don't mind Kurama." Hiei stated and I was worried about him fighting again.

He was ready to go, but a hand on his shoulder and a voice stopped him. "Wait." I turned to see it was the masked fighter…or at least someone that was identical to her.

"Just who the hell are you?" Hiei addressed the difference immediately. "I hope you don't expect me to believe you were the same masked fighter from before you imposter. She had tremendous power. You're a weakling." He practically spat.

"Yusuke has it now." She answered but it was a much older voice. Hiei was surprised by the answer and let her take the ring.

"You sure?" I asked Hiei.

"Let's see how this unveils." He answered.

The fight began for the masked fighter and Shishi and he was more concerned that her mask was drawing attention away from him as he swiped his sword at her continuously. She dodged them of course but it seemed to take effort.

Eventually much to everyone's surprise he was able to get rid of the mask. We were right. The person behind the mask was not the same. She was old and had grey hair. She looked tired.

Shishi turned to Juri and started to quote the rules to her. He accused Yusuke's team of cheating and wanted them to be out. This spurred the demons on to call us out for being cheaters.

"THIS TOURNAMENT IS ALL ABOUT CHEATING!" I shouted back at them. Not like I said we were cheating, but surely there was some explanation for the change in the masked fighter.

After standing through Koto's audience commentary she got a note from the committee and much to my relief read it off as the committee saying okay to the masked fighter difference. Of course the demon fans weren't amused. They continued to rage over the fact.

"That isn't very polite." We all turned to the familiar voice to see that the younger Toguro brother had taken Koto's microphone. "Team Urameshi did not cheat. I wanted you all to know that. To understand why, you merely have to know who that woman is. While employing the technique she is fond of, the body of the user does a most impressive thing. Its cells return to the moment when they were the strongest. The young woman who you saw before and the old woman you see now are the same person. The human psychic who created the spirit wave. It's been such a long time since we've talked hasn't it, Genkai?"

"Genkai? Like Yusuke's instructor?" I was shocked as I turned to look back at the now revealed identity of the masked fighter.

Toguro's information was enough to quell the audience and Shishi seemed to like the idea of killing someone famous. I didn't know she was famous but a lot of the demon fans thought so. The fight went on.

Shishi decided to take the fight more seriously now eager to kill Genkai for rise to fame. The hilt on his sword split and revealed a most grotesque organ looking structure in the middle. He called it the banshee shriek. It was a perfect name as he spun it like a helicopter blade and an annoying sound came from it.

"I've seen a sword like that before and I don't believe he understands the danger of it. It has more power than he does." Kurama remarked.

It seemed like Kurama was right as most of those in the audience couldn't handle the wailing noise. "Hn, surprised you aren't taken by the noise, Sakura." Hiei commented.

I shook my head. "It's not to the point where I would cower over, but it's really annoying nonetheless." I said trying not to focus on the noise.

"If it's any consolation, it pales in comparison to your whistling." Hiei said amused and I only stuck my tongue out at him.

Shishi didn't seem to care about the noise as he leapt up ready to strike Genkai. He landed right where she was standing, but rather than seeing a large dust cloud, we were met with ghoul like spirits wisping out and heading straight for the apparitions.

I watched in horror as the demons in the crowd were getting their heads ripped off by these spirits. My attention was caught when I heard the wailings come incredibly close but stopped at last minute. I turned to see Hiei was by my side and it was he who most likely just prevented my head from being ripped off.

"Focus on yourself." He lectured me. "If those in the audience are too weak, that's their fault. Surely you can't be that weak."

I shook my head. So he didn't think I was weak. My face felt warm and I looked back at the ring. "T-Thank you Hiei." I simply said. Now I felt slightly embarrassed that I hadn't knocked those things out of the way myself.

Back in the ring, the spirits were beginning to calm down and I could see a large crater. "Oh no…Genkai…"

My worries were cut short as Genkai spoke and she reappeared showing that that she was alive and had managed to avoid Shishi's attack.

"You still think she's weak?" Kurama asked Hiei seeing Genkai alive and unscathed. Hiei didn't say anything.

Shishi was getting ready for another attack now which sent those in the crowd running after the scare from the first one. This time however, Shishi created some sort of barrier around him and Genkai. She wouldn't be able to escape like with the last attack.

He charged directly at her, but to everyone's surprise Genkai stopped his sword with her two hands. "Her power…it's increasing!" I said incredulously. How?

Her power was increasing and it allowed her to return to her young form just like we had seen from the Ichigaki fight. "Spirit reflection blast!" She yelled and it caught Shishi completely off guard as he went reeling back from the attack.

"Interesting, so she took his own energy and made it for her own." Kurama remarked.

"Really?" I asked. "Incredible! Maybe I should get her to train me." I said with a smile.

With Genkai's borrowed energy she was able to create a shield against Shishi's counterattack. He was still going at it even after her direct hit.

"Apparently Shishi had a lot more energy than we first gave him credit for." Hiei said.

"Had is right. Little good it's doing him now that Genkai's claimed it." Kurama explained.

With the last of the ghouls gone, Genkai released another spirit reflection blast that hit Shishi and broke his sword to bits. Within a few moments, Juri announced Genkai the winner and I certainly felt better now that the score was four to one.

When Genkai came back I greeted her. "That was amazing Master Genkai!" I said with a smile.

"Hmm, well thanks." She said with a chuckle. "Though I have to say I really am getting old."

"Master? Aren't you easily impressed?" Hiei remarked seeing my enthusiasm towards Genkai.

I made a face at him. "You are such a stick in the mud." I decided to ignore that comment of his though.

I looked over to see there was only one fighter left and it was the old man Onji. He had one dice to roll now and we waited as he tossed it. The name that landed was Kuwabara's, but he wasn't around at all.

"Let's roll the dice again!" Juri announced.

"Not so fast referee!" Kuwabara's voice could be heard loud and clear. We all turned to where Koto was sitting and saw Kuwabara had taken her microphone. "See I never get lost anywhere for long!" He yelled out. "Ladies and gentleman and other stuff! Kuwabara returns!" The audience didn't know how to react.

"What the hell are you doing?" I shouted at Kuwabara.

"Well this is a tough crowd…and shut up Sakura!" He yelled back right before he gave the mic back and made his way into the ring to face Onji.

When Juri announced the start of the fight, I was a bit annoyed that Kuwabara was using the same tactic with Onji as he did with Shishi. He was swinging his sword around recklessly. Onji dodged each moved and that just angered Kuwabara more. Onji promised not to move and he kept to his promise by instead summoning a giant black sphere.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Kuwabara retorted and he charged straight for it causing himself to be caught and stuck in the giant sphere.

"I can't believe he walked into that trap right on his own." Kurama said with disbelief.

"Is there any way to wipe what just happened from my memory?" I said dully not surprised at what just occurred.

"He is a first class fool." Hiei spat.

"Agreed." Said Genkai. "A fool and a moron."

We all watched as Kuwabara started to float up while in the sphere and soon he disappeared. It was a repeat of the fight against Shishi all over again. I wonder how long it would take him this time to show up.

The next fight shortly began after Kuwabara's lost and this time it was Onji with Genkai.

Onji went on about the elderly fighting each other but for some reason Genkai called him out for it. She even went as far as to tell him to drop the disguise.

"Disguise?" Kurama asked with surprise in his tone.

We watched only to see Onji laugh at the remark and he then proceeded to rip off a portion of his face.

"Oh gross…" I said taking a step back not really wanting to know what was behind the façade.

He chanted some words and was quickly enveloped by a cloud of smoke. Laughter could be heard and all I could think of was what kind of beast did Genkai just unleash.

Once the smoke cleared, I could see Genkai had unleashed anything but a beast. In front of me was a man with blond hair and was wearing a clown costume. "The…the semifinals are just one big joke aren't they?" I said in disbelief.

'Onji' revealed himself to be the beautiful Suzuka and had an entire monologue prepared as to why he had dressed up the way he did. He even tried to kill Koto for not attaching beautiful to his name. "I want to go home." I remarked. "This is nuts." I shook my head in disapproval as Suzuka just laughed out loud as if he were a secret genius.

"I don't get what's so funny." Hiei remarked.

"I thought clowns were supposed to make everyone else laugh." Kurama added in.

The crowd seemed to agree that he was ridiculous, as for once they were jeering at the other team's fighter. Of course they were cut short when he decided to shoot an energy blast at them.

Okay, so he looked ridiculous _and_ he was crazy.

Despite the rough start, the match did begin and Suzuka started it off by firing a colorful move of his called 'rainbow cyclone'. A myriad of colors all aimed and shot at Genkai. I was taken aback by the actions Genkai took.

To the rest of the crowd it looked like she had been hit into the walls of the arena. She of course appeared without any damage but that's because she had moved there at last minute. She jumped into the ring. I was rather pleased I could follow her quick movements.

"At least give me credit for the nose." She mentioned to Suzuka swinging around the clown's red nose. His reaction to losing such a trivial thing was ridiculous.

"Naturally my eyes could follow every inch of Genkai's movement." Kurama said in disbelief at Suzuka's mellow drama.

"I saw the whole thing too." Hiei said clearly not amused.

My attention turned away as I heard Kurama call out Kuwabara's name. I turned around to see a panting Kuwabara run up to us. "And only five hundred seconds too late to matter." Hiei remarked.

Kuwabara ignored him as he was short of breath. "Hey, where's that guy I was fighting? I wasn't done yet!"

Hiei turned to the fight with a smirk. "So which is more humiliating? Losing to an old man or a clown?"

"A clown. Definitely worse to a clown." He said starting to catch his breath.

"Oh you're in for a treat, Kuwabara." I said also turning back to the fight.

Genkai felt Suzuka to be a worthless opponent and decided she wouldn't use anything but her fists to fight. Suzuka agreed of his own accord to the do the same and even increased his muscle mass. It was rather disturbing.

Still, I suppose it was all for show as Genkai still managed to mercilessly beat him to pieces. I mean really the cracking of the back was a nice touch. When she was done with him, he was definitely bruised all over his 'beautiful' face.

Juri poked at the passed out Suzuka to confirm that Team Urameshi had in fact won and were advancing onto the finals.

"You guys…you guys did it!" I jumped for joy and then hugged Hiei. "Alright!" I said and then realized my actions and quickly backed away. "Um good job everyone!" I said and hugged Kurama, master Genkai and even Kuwabara. "Ahahaha, yeah good job!" I yelled upwards and silently cursed at myself in my head. What was I doing?

Our team headed out and was making their way back to the hotel. We met up with Botan, Yukina and Shizuru as well.

"Can you believe we made it to the finals? You guys are all super!" Botan cheered.

"I had a kick out of watching you fight Kazuma." Yukina mentioned.

"Why thank you Yukina! It's nice to see someone appreciate my strategy. See there was no one worth wasting my energy on, so I had the bad guy reveal their weaknesses so Genkai could knock them out." Kuwabara bluffed.

"More like you made a big mess and had Genkai clean up after you like someone always does." Shizuru fixed her brother's statement.

"Good one Shizuru." I laughed.

"Hey that stung! You take that back sis!" Kuwabara shouted.

"Just the truth bro." She said calmly.

"Well no one cares!" Kuwabara argued.

"Actually I'd like to hear it." Hiei remarked.

"Stay out of this shorty!" Kuwabara warned.

"Hey I wanna hear too!" I chimed.

"You're always taking Hiei's side!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"A-Am not!" I shot back.

"Now children behave!" Botan lectured.

"I'm leaving." Genkai said clearly tired of our squabbles.

"It took us all working as a team to win." I heard Kurama say and I turned back to the large group.

"Not him." Hiei said tilting his head to Kuwabara.

"I fought just as many fights as you did!" Kuwabara shot back.

"And lost them both." Hiei jeered.

This continued all the way back to the hotel. It was exasperating but still very fun. I loved them all.

-x-

The girls had gone off for a walk around the island and Kuwabara and Yusuke were back at the hotel. Kurama had gone off to watch the fight and I wasn't quite so sure where Hiei was at all. I was wandering the island looking for him. "Maybe I should have gone with Kurama to watch the fight…" I said to myself out loud.

"So I guess Hiei didn't listen to my advice." I turned around to see it was Genkai who had spoken.

"Oh, Master Genkai!" I said with a smile. "Out for a walk?" I asked.

"More or less." She said and I felt like she was adverting my eyes. "What are you doing out, Sakura?" she asked me.

"Oh me?" I pointed to myself. "I was just looking for Hiei." I replied. "I suppose you haven't seen him?"

She chuckled a little before shaking her head. "I don't know who's worse you or Yusuke." I turned my head to the side confused by the comparison. "Listen Sakura, make it easy on yourself and just give in to your feelings."

"I…what?" I was confused by the sudden advice from Master Genkai.

She chuckled at me. "Though I don't see why you would be drawn to Hiei, but perhaps you're a good thing for him and that attitude of his."

"Th-That's what you're talking about?" I said realizing what she meant. "What feelings?" I exclaimed.

She shook her head. "I can only say so much with the time I have left." She started to walk away. "Good luck Sakura." I was going to follow and ask her more about what she was saying but something about her tone made it seem like she wanted to be alone, so I decided to respect that.

I headed the opposite direction of where Genkai was heading to assure she would have her own space. I roamed the edges of the island now hoping to find Hiei. I was starting to give up. "Hiei just give me a sign of where the hell you are!" I yelled out in frustration.

I got a sign alright, but it definitely wasn't Hiei. I could feel a strong rise in power and it was causing a strong wind. I held back my hair to prevent it from whip-lashing me in the face. "What kind of power is that?" I looked around to see no one around me. "I better find Hiei fast…"

I ran this time and made my way to what I thought was the most secluded section of the island and sure enough there was Hiei. I ran over to make my way towards him. "Hiei, did you feel that power and-"

I stopped as now I sensed the strong energy this time, but not only that, but the life of someone had completely diminished on this island. Someone I knew. Someone that I had just talked too recently. Genkai…

No, it couldn't be.

"Genkai's been finished." Hiei said looking off into the distance.

"No…she can't be…" I felt tears start to brim at my eyes and quickly wiped them away. "Was that power…was it Toguro's?" I asked him.

Hiei nodded. "Come on." Hiei told me and I followed him. There seemed to be an eerie calm as we made our way to what I assumed was Genkai's death site. I didn't want to go…but I wasn't going to annoy Hiei.

Then again, I always had to act on eggshells with Hiei sometimes. I often cared too much of what he thought. Perhaps this is what Genkai meant by telling about my feelings with Hiei. I always did overreact when people mentioned us. I just didn't like rumors. That's what it was…wasn't it? I stopped as I had bumped into Hiei. "We're stopping?"

"He did this." I looked around to see a giant crater. Toguro did this…

He wasn't around and no longer was Genkai. She was really gone. I looked at Hiei who was observing the massive size of the crater. He had a determination look about him. I watched as he leapt into the air and he was releasing his energy. He then charged at where I was standing.

"Move Sakura!" he commanded as he lunged straight for the ground beneath me. I moved out of the way and watched as Hiei created his own crater. Once finished he made his way back out. "Dammit, I still need more training. If this is the best my training can do I might as well get a new arm." He was chastising himself in the difference between his and Toguro's crater. It was still incredible on it's own though. "Unbelievable." I heard him say. "I'm going to train. Do what you will." He said turning his back and leaving.

I didn't follow him. I stood there. "Genkai." I looked up at the sky. "You're right. I do have feelings for Hiei." I said to myself. "I guess I was secretly denying it because I don't want to be turned down…and the way he just acted…I'll be turned down no matter what. He's only out for strength." I let out a sigh. "I could never compete…"

"I want to get stronger so I can face my mother someday. But…I guess I have another reason in wanting to get stronger. Is that so bad? I wish you could've stayed to train me Genkai." I summoned my weapon. "I guess…I'm on my own." And suddenly I felt myself overwhelmed by my self-confession and I only slashed at whatever was in front of me until I could calm myself down.

It was like this until night fell. I was going to make my way back to the hotel, but sensing familiar energies nearby I headed over to it.

"It wouldn't obey when I gave it a specific command so I decided it needed to be punished." I heard Hiei spoke.

"Way too much information for me!" Kuwabara shouted.

I decided to make myself known. "You should let me heal that Hiei." I spoke although I was a bit wary from the emotional turmoil of today.

"S-Sakura? Where did you come from?" Kuwabara said in shock. "Know what? Never mind. Let's stick to something safe like where's Kurama?"

"I've been standing next to you for some time now." I turned to see Kurama. "A bit nervous are we?" He asked Kuwabara.

"Now we just need to find the old lady. Has anyone seen her?" Kuwabara looked around and we stood there quietly.

"She's not coming." Yusuke answered. I'm surprised he didn't tell Kuwabara or that Kuwabara hadn't sensed her death on his own. "She's not well. She just needs some time to rest." Yusuke lied and I'm sure he had his own reasons. He was the closest to her out of everyone. I felt the mood was effectively shot.

I proceeded to heal up Hiei's arm and then we all decided to head back to the hotel. It had been a long day.

The next day I woke up and saw that Hiei was outside bandaging his arm back up. I headed outside and made my way over to him.

"This island makes it too easy for you to follow me." He said as he felt my presence.

"Perhaps. Hey today…don't die okay?" I said staring at the ground.

"That was never my intention. I don't need to hear that coming from you." He remarked.

I seemed to hang my head down further. "Right…just wanted to remind you." I said as I turned around.

"Sakura." He said and I turned around. "Go to the tournament with Yukina and the rest of them." He said.

I nodded. "Okay." I wonder if he was worried.

I headed back to the room and waited until the girls were ready. Once everyone was ready we made our way to the stadium. However finding ourselves there we realized we didn't have tickets. The people around us also seemed like they couldn't get ahold of any either.

"Oh, it sounds like it's impossible for us to get in." Yukina commented.

"I'm sorry girls. I was so preoccupied when I was talking to Koenma, I forgot to ask for tickets. I'm afraid we won't be able to watch the finals." Botan lamented. Being the grim reaper, I wonder if her normal disposition was away because of Genkai's passing.

"I shouldn't have listened to Hiei." I sighed wanting to focus on something else.

"Well you know what they say. Desperate times call for desperate measures." Shizuru said with fists formed.

"You're not going to charge the bouncer again are you?" Keiko asked.

"That's what you guys did last time? Oh I'm totally in!" I said cheerfully.

"That's the spirit kid." Shizuru said. "Unless you have another bright idea." She said to Keiko.

Keiko shook her head. "No."

"Attack is our only option." Yukina stated. So _that's_ how she was related to Hiei.

"Yukina you're just full of surprises." Botan remarked and I nodded in agreement.

Before we were even ready to make a move, some green lizard like demon approached us.

"I know you!" Botan said. "You're that sleezy scalper who tried to con Koenma in buying those fourth rate tickets!" She exclaimed.

"How nice of you to remember me. I'm touched. I don't mean to be presumptuous, but I see you foxy ladies are in need of a hand." He offered.

"Well we don't need yours." Shizuru commented.

I stuck out my tongue at him. "Do I look like a fox demon to you?"

"I see my mistake. Well then, I guess you wouldn't mind if I sold these elsewhere?" He flashed out some tickets.

"Are those what I think they are?" Keiko asked.

"You bet so sweet stuff!" He closed his eyes with a shrug. "And they happen to be five seats best in the house. And for you, I'll be willing to part with these for five thousand clams apiece." He offered us but Shizuru had other plans.

She swiped them out of his. "Geez, I'm such an idiot guys. Can you believe I had our tickets in my hand the entire time?" She asked us.

"Hey you better give those back!" He threatened us.

Shizuru hid them behind her back. "I guess I could be wrong but they look an awful lot like our tickets." She commented.

Keiko shook her head uneasily. "Uh-huh…"

"Botan?" I watched as Botan took them from Shizuru and then pulled a marker out.

"Yes our tickets! Our tickets definitely!" She said as she proceeded to write on them.

"Just give me back my tickets!" The scalper exclaimed.

Botan handed each of us one ticket. "But our names are on them. They must be ours." Shizuru said.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Look." Shizuru held out her tickets and we all followed her actions.

"Here." Yukina held out hers.

"There." I said holding out mine.

"See?" Keiko said showing hers.

"Told you so." Botan said with the marker still in her mouth.

"Thanks for holding them for us." Shizuru said with a slight laugh and headed inside.

I followed her having much respect for Kuwabara's sister. "Nice one!" I commented and we all made our way into the arena expecting a fight already going on.

"What's going on? Why is everyone just standing around?" Keiko asked once we made it inside to see there wasn't even any fighters in the ring.

"I suppose we'll know soon enough." Botan commented.

"Does anyone know who that strange man at the gate is?" Yukina asked. We looked over at Team Toguro's side.

"No I don't know who he really could be. He's really good looking." Keiko commented.

"Yes he is. Do you think he's someone important?" Yukina asked.

"Probably." I lied. I knew exactly who that was. He was part of my grandfather's club that he was in and he also went ahead and allowed him to be killed by Toguro. I held no grudge towards him, but he was truly someone to be afraid of.

"Hey Shizuru." Keiko said and I snapped out of my thoughts to see Shizuru was lost in her own I saw. "Earth to Shizuru. Something wrong?"

"No just a little dizzy." Shizuru shook it off and we made our way to some empty seats.

"Toguro is prepared. Now present your fighter or the finals are over!" Juri announced to Yusuke's team. I watched to see Yusuke's team just stand there. With Genkai gone…they needed a fifth person to fill in or they would be disqualified.

And then it donned on me. I didn't have to fight. I could just fill in. I started to get up as Juri continued her announcement. "Since Team Urameshi has failed miserably to present a fifty fighter, Team Toguro will be named winner by default-"

I was going to shout 'wait' but I was beaten to the punch. "Hold it missy! Patience is a virtue." The doors to Yusuke's side opened up and smoke filled the area. Once it cleared, I noticed it was Koenma in his older teen form.

I stood at the steps waiting to see if it was okay for Koenma to take the place and it seemed so. I couldn't really see him much as a fighter. As I thought that, I saw him reveal a jet pack on his back.

I ran down the stair cases and leapt off once I reached the end and I made my way over to Hiei. "You wanted me to sit with the girls so I wouldn't be a substitute huh?" I shouted.

"And somehow, you find an excuse to come down here anyway." He dully remarked. "It wasn't my decision." He said looking over at Yusuke.

I glared at Yusuke. "Really…Koenma over me?"

"Hey now, don't go getting mad at me now. Save that for after." We turned to the ring to see Karasu from Team Toguro was making his way to the center of the ring.

He stopped and looked at us and held his index to his temple and made an imaginary gun motion.

"Trying to scare us with his own finger! I'm going to beat him until his mother doesn't recognize him!" Kuwabara raged.

"No." We all turned to see Kurama step forward. "I will handle him." He said making his way into the ring.

"It has been decided we'll begin the match with Team Toguro's Karasu and Kurama from Team Urameshi!" Juri announced.

This was it. The finals of the Dark Tournament was really starting.

-x-

A/N: The finals are now going to start in the Dark Tournament! Hope you guys enjoyed the semi-finals! Leave me a review okay guys? Thanks for reading!


	13. Finals

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: And now the finals of the Dark Tournament! Enjoy!

-x-

Juri announced the match and it started off immediately with Kurama summoning rose petals that surrounded himself. "Oh…pretty." I remarked seeing the dazzling sight.

It didn't matter how lovely or possibly deadly those petals could be, Karasu walked straight for Kurama at an eerily calm ease. Upon contact the petals left a cut on his face, yet it didn't seem to faze him.

He was going to be cut up soon if he got closer, but Karasu had a change of plans as he did some strange hand movements. He didn't come into any contact, but the petals exploded on the spot before being able to slice him up further.

"What the heck, those flowers just spontaneously combusted!" Kuwabara shouted.

"Be careful Kurama!" Yusuke shouted. He had said what I wanted to say. I wanted them to win, but I wanted all of them alive.

They exchanged words and then Karasu went at Kurama with speed and tried to hit him. Kurama could only dodge. Kurama jumped into the air and brought out his rose whip to try and attack Karasu but he only detonated the weapon just the same.

"Come on…transform faster…" I muttered as I watched the game of cat and mouse. Karasu came from above and Kurama dodged, but his arm was still met with an explosion.

"You okay?" Yusuke shouted.

"Darn it why won't he change?" Kuwabara complained. "If that clown gave him bad juice, I'll make him regret the day he was born!"

I agreed with Kuwabara for once and watched as Kurama got hit again. "This…is just the first round too." I said beginning to have my hope diminish.

It quickly faded when I saw Karasu summon some kind of explosive and threw it at Kurama. It didn't even hit but had exploded mid-way and created a giant explosion. I couldn't see anything. "Kurama!" I called out feeling as if I was on the brink of tears.

"Stop with your feelings and sense what's around you." Hiei ordered.

I was going to yell at him but the sudden change in energy made me listen. It was a powerful energy and very familiar. Without a doubt…Kurama had transformed. The smoke began to clear and in Kurama's place was Youko Kurama.

"You're telling me that's Kurama?" Yusuke seemed nervous.

"Basically." Koenma said. "As you've heard his full name is Youko Kurama but he goes by several other names."

"Oh yeah, you weren't there for his first transformation." I remarked to Yusuke. "Way to miss out."

"Shut it." He quipped back at me.

I watched Youko resume the fight by pulling out two roses. He threw them at what I thought was Karasu, but they ended up exploding not too far from his face. "What is going on…" I watched as Karasu stood in his spot but Youko was dodging around in the air ever so gracefully.

He landed and Karasu made some comment of Youko being surrounded to which I saw nothing. For a split second I saw Youko's energy surround him but that was it as it was met with a giant series of explosions. When the smoke cleared a purplish plant was surrounding Youko.

It began to attack Karasu mercilessly with the heads of the plant slamming into the arena and Karasu barely dodging each time. "Wow, he's amazing!" I yelled watching with complete admiration.

"Oh yeah this one's in the bag." Koenma said calmly.

"Who cares what kind of class he's in, Youko will still kick his butt!" Kuwabara shouted.

"It's called a quest class." Hiei told him. "I bet you don't remember your own name half the time." He shot at Kuwabara.

"You two again…" I said shaking my head.

Karasu continued to dodge and the plants were even sending out energy rays of their own. Even if he had burned one head off in an attempt to escape, one was quickly closing in on him from behind. "This is it!"

The plant caught Karasu and had him gripped tightly. The other plant heads quickly joined in on devouring the demon. Grotesque, yes, but an effective way to win the round.

Youko started to walk back and Juri announced that Kurama had won. If only things could've stayed that way. A large explosion came from the plant and the team's cheery disposition had disappeared.

Juri went back on her announcement out of fear. The fight was still going to continue. Karasu seemed unharmed except now his mask was gone. And on top of that his black hair had changed to blonde.

"That can't be a good sign…" I said watching as his energy seemed to increase.

"Can someone fill me in here? What's going on with his hair?" Kuwabara asked.

"It's an explicit sign he's internalizing his power which means the bombs he created are now inside of him virtually making him one giant explosive." Hiei explained it so calmly it was hard to wrap my head around the idea that the guy was going to kill everyone.

"Are you serious?" Yusuke asked to confirm.

"Of course I am. If my assumptions are correct, he's about to detonate. If you're wise, you'll take cover now." The rest of the guys freaked out at Hiei's words. "Sakura, you best get behind me." He ordered and in panic I immediately ordered.

"Oh sure cover her!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"I AM a girl." I hated using that card so I threw another in. "Besides, it's his job." I stuck out my tongue at Kuwabara who was leaving himself wide open.

I watched from behind Hiei as Karasau who was now a glowing sphere leapt up into the air. "Oh boy…" I said gripping onto Hiei's shoulders as if that would lighten the explosion.

A large explosion did go off and all I could hear was the screaming of what was more than likely the audience as Karasu had managed to destroy a good portion of the stadium entirely leaving a large gaping hole as evidence of his powers.

But that was of little concern as the explosion had sent me flying and had Hiei not grabbed my hand at last minute I would've probably been sent back further. I think if I didn't realize the danger I was in, I'd have shook off his grip in embarrassment over the whole thing.

We both landed on a ledge that separated the audience from the competitors. "Hey is everyone alright?" Yusuke asked after he pushed his way out of rubble. I looked down to see Koenma and Kuwabara had caught the worse end of the explosion as Hiei and I leapt off and landed as if nothing had happened.

"Thank you." I smiled at him with gratitude.

"Hn." Was all he said as his attention was still on the fight. Or perhaps lack of a fight as there was only smoke and I couldn't see either fighter.

Kurama was alive and Karasu. But…like I said Kurama was alive. He had returned to his human form and Youko was gone.

Kurama was in trouble. He didn't even have any energy to summon his rose whip. "No…" I couldn't believe this.

Kurama tried to go on the offensive by hitting Karasu but he dodged each move.

"He has a plan. It's obvious by how he moves." Hiei said out loud but I felt as if it was to reassure my growing worries.

The two stopped moving as Karasau pulled out a seed that Kurama tried to plant. "Um you were saying Hiei…"

It was Karasu's turn as he made something pop out of the ground and catch Kurama's leg. An explosion went off and Kurama screamed in pain. "No Kurama!" I heard Yusuke shout as I fell to my knees.

"T-This is too much!" I said to myself.

"Don't move another inch Kurama! You're surrounded by bombs!" Yusuke shouted and I looked up to see that the bombs were now visible and had in fact surround Kurama.

They all detonated causing great pain to Kurama. My dear friend was in pain and was going to die. "Perhaps you should leave. You can't handle this." Hiei spoke pulling me up to stand. "Don't be so pathetic."

I hit Hiei on the chest repeatedly. "We have to do something!"

_Calm yourself. If we do anything we'll be disqualified and none of us can go home._ Hiei said telepathically. He couldn't say this out loud because of the way he was…jerk.

More detonations and Kurama was covered in blood and I watched him collapse in horror. "Kurama!" I shouted. "Get up!" I don't know if I could be heard among the fan's screams.

Juri began her countdown. "Please get up!" I shouted more. Kurama slowly rose up. "You can do it!" I suddenly felt a rise in energy from Kurama but where… "No stop!" I yelled realizing it was his life energy.

It was too late. A plant had emerged from Kurama and pierced at Karasu. His energy was being depleted. Karasu collapsed…in death.

Kurama fell over and I could feel his life energy deplete. "No…get up…" I looked away.

"Sakura…don't look away just yet." I heard Hiei's voice and turned to see Kurama…he was getting up.

"He…He's alive!" I shouted and I tackled Hiei with a hug. "And we won!" I let out a relieved chuckle.

"You're too damn easy to change in emotions." Hiei smirked as he removed my arms around him.

I regained my composure. If this is how every would be like, I was going to die of a heart attack.

"You made a nice flower pot out of him Kurama!" Yusuke cheered as he leapt into the ring.

I turned to face Hiei who suddenly lost his smirk. "They don't look like a team who just lost. What do they know that we don't?" I could only assume he meant Team Toguro and I turned to see that they were relaxed and unfazed by one of their members being completely reduced to a plant.

"And the official announcement says the winner of the match is Karasu!" Juri called out.

"What?" I screeched. Did I hear that right? The dead guy won?

Yusuke had a bout with Juri and they were calling each other names but eventually she revealed that Kurama stayed down longer than ten seconds. I wanted proof.

And I got just that when Koto announced she had a video to play. Everyone turned their attention to the big screens to see the fight with Kurama. It was awful having to see him in pain again, but eventually it did reach the part where Juri began to count and a timer was even in the corner. By the time the plant had pierced Karasu, it was point two eight seconds too late.

The demon fans were now calling us cheaters again and chanting 'two more to go.' I was getting very agitated.

The crowd shut up when the older Toguro brother spoke though. He reminded us of the prize as the winners. They are granted a wish each. "I'll wish for the death of each of your friends."

I took a step back behind Hiei. It didn't matter how much of a chance we had of winning or losing. The elder Toguro scared me greatly with his gangly appearance and his utter malice in his words. He was not one to be messed with.

Yusuke helped Kurama back to our side of the arena and helped him sit down. "Oh, I can heal Kurama now that the fight's over right?" I asked. "I mean it's just one fight per person and Kurama's done."

"Best not take any chances." Kurama advised. "I'll live, Sakura. Besides the crowd is already riled up enough. Mob mentality."

Kurama was right. The threat Older Toguro sure made the demons in the crowd rambunctious as ever…no even more so. "Forget world peace," Yusuke shouted at the crowd. "Now I'll just wish for muzzles!"

"Know what I'll wish for when we beat them?" Hiei said with a devilish grin. "The bloody deaths of every member of that corrupt tournament committee so that I'll never be pulled into one of their carnivals again."

I shook my head with a nervous chuckle. "That's Hiei for you…"

The Elder Toguro stepped in but was stopped by the heavily cladded fighter. Bui was it? He made his way to the center with very heavy and clunky steps.

"Yusuke, I had planned to take on the thug with the sunglasses, but after what he did to Genkai, I believe vengeance belongs to you." He remarked.

Hearing about Genkai saddened me, but at the same time I couldn't help but smile at Hiei's words to Yusuke. Hiei quickly 'warped' into the ring.

_Hey, don't die on me okay?_ I told Hiei telepathically.

_Honestly at this point you sound like a broken record player._ He replied. "This thug will do just as well." Hiei said making his way to the center.

Bui started off the fight by summoning a huge giant battle axe out of thin air. I wonder just how heavy it was having to hold that, much less use it as a weapon.

I could hear all the demon fans wanting Hiei to be hacked to pieces. "Grr…shut up all you full breeds or I'll do some hacking myself!" I yelled in a fit.

Yusuke chuckled at my reaction and I just glared at him and he promptly shut up as well. Hiei had taken off his cloak to reveal his now newly bandaged arm. So the dragon would be unleashed yet again.

"Man look at how tight Hiei has those bandages wrapped around his arm. His injuries must not be close to any healing for real." Kuwabara commented.

"No you misunderstand Hiei's true motives." Kurama spoke. "This particular binding is not meant for repair."

"What the hell so it's just there to look pretty?" Yusuke shouted.

I rolled my eyes. "Since when does Hiei like to make a fashion statement?"

"What's the point of having bandages that don't make your boo boos all better?" Kuwabara asked and that was all I needed to completely give up my faith on Team Urameshi.

Juri started the fight and Bui started off by going right for Hiei. He smashed the axe into the ground and it left quite a mess. Good thing Hiei had dodged him with no problem.

He picked up his axe and along with it a block from the arena and swung it at Hiei. Not good enough as Hiei also dodged that too. He kept going with his block assault and lifted many blocks and threw them at Hiei. He dodged each and every one but Hiei's dodging caused the audience to get hit instead.

Hiei stopped and this time summoned his Fist of the Mortal flame and pulverized the second onslaught of blocks. However those were just a distraction as Bui was coming from above ready to swing. Hiei didn't dodge and instead hit Bui's axe with his fist right at the blade!

The top of the axe broke and was sent flying at of course the crowd. Well that'll show them for doubting Hiei.

Bui summoned another axe. Same tactics? Maybe Hiei could win this fight without usage of the dragon. Bui threw the axe at Hiei as if it was a small throwing knife. Hiei caught the knife bare handed and it burst into flames. Hmph, show off. Just win already so I can relax…jeez.

Bui's deep voice rang throughout as he proceeded to remove his armor. He threw it back and it broke some concrete. I had to agree on Kuwabara on the fact that it was heavy and it was a shock he could stand up with all that armor on.

Once it was all gone, a man with blue hair and very tall, slender built was shown to be beneath it. He also unleashed a great amount of energy. "He's really strong…no wonder he tried to contain it." I said after Kurama explained the usage of it to Yusuke.

Hiei shot flames at Bui and it looked like he was engulfed in magma with the flames mixed with his energy. However Bui dispelled Hiei's attack with no problem whatsoever. He counterattacked with an energy blast right at Hiei. Hiei shot more flames and dispelled Bui's attack.

Okay…so maybe the dragon was necessary. Bui sent out another energy blast but this time it followed Hiei. He dodged around the stadium and eventually he appeared right behind Bui and moved at the last second for the energy blast to follow and collide with his opponent.

It was a direct hit. I changed my mind on the dragon thing as Bui crashed into the stadium with a large crash and tons of smoke.

Once it cleared we were all very sure that Hiei had won…but Bui emerged from his crater with the same amount of energy surrounding him. I needed to stop making such quick calls.

I was sure the dragon would be used now that I saw Hiei began the process of removing the bandages that contained his most powerful attack. His arm looked like it was on fire once the bandages were completely gone and his wound was gone. It its place was a black mark wrapping around his arm and it looked just like his dragon.

The energy that struck the various bits of the stadium was intense. "It's even more than before. Without control, it could eat us all." Kurama warned.

"That's cool…" Yusuke said with a slight mumble.

Kuwabara kept chanting 'please don't eat me' and Koenma was ready to fly off should the dragon turn on us. "You guys have no faith whatsoever!" I said sticking out my tongue at them.

"What you're not scared?" Yusuke asked.

I turned to him. "Of course I am. I'm scared that he won't be okay." I said and turned to watch the fight. "But he has to be okay." I said to myself. "He'll win this."

The stadium was starting to collapse and the dragon wasn't even released yet. Koto had to pull Juri out of the ring, which was a neat trick with her ribbon pulling.

"Shouldn't we leave now?" Kuwabara asked.

"Wait, give him his due time. It could be advantageous after all." Kurama remarked. "It appears during his short training since then, he's controlled it better."

"Oh better, that's wonderful." Yusuke retorted.

"Yusuke, shut up." And for once, I agreed with Koenma.

Hiei unleashed the dragon and it headed straight for Bui. The aura surrounding him allowed him to create a thin barrier between him and the dragon, but it wasn't enough to stop it right?

I was wrong. He did stop it. The others were amazed by the feat too, Kuwabara was just scared. Hiei wasn't done though. He sent another energy wave and shot it right into that dragon. Bui held on to the dragon but it tossed him around the stadium in each and every way.

The stadium was splitting in half, and the crowds were being killed from the pure energy that was coming off of that dragon.

Something was wrong though, the dragon's tail could be seen from where he was holding Bui, but it had turned around and headed straight for Hiei. Bui came back to the stadium…but there was no Hiei.

"No…" I said taking a step towards the stadium.

"Sakura, don't!" Kurama called out to me.

Koto was telling Juri to wake up and she stumbled over to see the remains of the stadium. She was going to announce that he had lost since he couldn't compete without a body.

"That's not…no, he…HIEI!" I shouted out into the empty atmosphere once the dragon disappeared.

But it seemed my cries weren't for naught. A black fire reemerged and sent out a large blast sending Juri flying. Smoke filled the stadium and once it cleared, Hiei was at the center of it all.

"It's…Hiei!" I shouted with great relief.

"Now that's cool." Yusuke said with a smile and I turned to him with a 'thumbs up.'

"Hiei has consumed the darkness technique. Apparently he's done what no one has done before him. He's mastered the dragon by trapping it within him." I remember Kurama explaining something like that.

"I have the power of the black dragon, because now I _am_ the black dragon." I heard Hiei talk from the stadium.

He was amazing.

I watched as Bui land attacks on Hiei and he just stood there taking it, but it was if he felt no pain. Was this a result of absorbing the dragon? I'm sure it was temporary though. In a fit as to why Hiei was still there, he threw and tossed him around the stadium trying to illicit any time of pain response.

Hiei stopped his last fist and even got rid of his battle aura. Hiei managed to create an energy field to block another onslaught from Hiei and then sent a powerful punch that knocked Bui into the stadium.

I watched as Hiei stood there where his opponent was laying and Juri was counting. I wondered if he'd kill him off…

Juri neared the ending of her ten count and Hiei returned, but Bui didn't. He won.

Hiei came over and I ran up and hugged him. "You did it!"

"Sakura what are you doing?" Kuwabara exclaimed. "Back off Hiei, this is a no man dragon area okay?"

I let go of my hug and noticed something about Hiei. I saw him slightly nod as if he was confirming what I knew.

"Why don't you go twenty yards that way and fight the rest of them." Kuwabara suggested. He didn't seem to notice that the dragon had completely wiped Hiei of any stamina.

"That's against the rules now, you cretin. Besides my attack expired. I don't know if your brains can imagine it, but this attack drained a good deal of my energy." He let out a yawn. "I'll require some hibernation to get it back. Think you can find a safe spot for my body where it won't get stepped on?" Hiei slightly turned to me and I nodded with a smile.

He turned to Yusuke and Kuwabara and pointed at them. "Listen to me as closely as you can you two. I'm trusting you against my better instincts, only because I have no choice. Take care of the Toguro brothers. If I wake up…and we've lost…I swear, I'll kill you…all." He collapsed over.

Yusuke, Kurama and I couldn't help but laugh that he managed to threaten us even while hanging on his last energy thread.

"Can I draw a mustache on him?" Kuwabara asked.

"Don't you dare!" I yelled at Kuwabara knocking the marker out of his hands. I moved Hiei over so that his head rested on a rock. I got up and looked around at the stadium with the others. It was absolutely torn to pieces.

"You've got to hand it to him. When he's feeling serious, Hiei lets you know." Yusuke said observing the torn down stadium.

"With this technique mastered, his power is overwhelming indeed. We'll have to stay on his good side." Kurama said as a slight joke, but he didn't seem to realize I already had a difficult time doing that, I thought nervously.

"Hell he didn't say how long he'd be hibernating. Maybe we'll all be dead when he's up." Yusuke commented.

"That's a cheery thought, Yusuke." Koenma remarked.

I rolled my eyes. "Jeez…and this is only our first win." I looked down at Hiei who was sleeping peacefully. "You don't think he'll miss the remainder of the fight do you? I mean…there's even barely a ring."

"What are they going to do about the ring?" Yusuke asked. "Looks like a graveyard."

"Hey why are you upset?" Kuwabara chimed in. "The ring's not our problem. All we gotta think about is smashing those Toguro's, and get things back to normal." He exclaimed.

"Aren't you ever the optimist?" I asked Kuwabara. I was ready to roll my eyes at him but I looked to see he seemed kinda stiff and almost had a frightened look about him.

"You okay Kuwabara…?" I asked seeing the change in his expression.

"Yeah, can you believe how silly he is? Why'd I get terrified by some red eye trick?" He snapped out of that quickly…but it didn't seem that believable. "I'm going to beat him so fast." Still didn't believe him. "This conversation is wearing me down. I'm going back to the locker room to get my groove on." I watched Kuwabara start to walk off.

"Tell them the real reason why you're leaving. You're frightened because you're about to die." I turned around to see that the older, lanky Toguro was on our side of the arena. He was talking to Kuwabara in a quite taunting manner, and I didn't care for it one bit. "There still is an abyss of difference between you and I. Lucky for you, your persecution has been postponed."

He made his threats and took his demented, gangly self away and back to his team. The boys headed to the locker room and I decided to go find the girls. The idea of Yukina being with Kuwabara was just not clicking for me, but I'm sure she could cheer him up after the mess Toguro seemed to put him in.

I scanned the audience to see the girls leaving their seats and I rushed to catch up with them.

"Hey!" I called out once I was in range and they all turned around. "Where are you guys headed off to?" I asked.

"Concessions." Shizuru stated. "Didn't follow the boys?" She asked me.

I shook my head and walked with them. "Nope! I figured they're all quite apprehensive right now." I said.

"Oh no." Yukina said. "Perhaps we should get some drinks for Kazuma. His fight is next isn't it?" She asked me.

I smiled at her. She was so sweet and kind. I was starting to doubt again that her and Hiei were siblings. But then again…he had his moments. I nodded at her. "I think he'd like that Yukina."

We followed Yukina who purchased the drinks and we went to the locker rooms.

Shizuru raced to Kuwabara first and grabbed him by his collar ready to go all out on him and what he planned to do. I went over and sat next to Hiei who was still asleep on a bench.

Kuwabara did seem rather happy once Yukina approached him with the drinks. Though that was short lived as everyone felt tremors nearby. Yusuke and Kuwabara ran outside to check up.

They came back and informed us that they had seen the younger Toguro carry the ring from the old stadium on his back.

"What?" I exclaimed not believing the information.

"Come now!" Botan said. "That's just inhuman. Let's go check it out girls." She said and the others agreed and left the room to go see the sight for themselves. I decided to stay behind. I believed them.

I suppose his happiness over Yukina buying him something was short lived. Coming back from what he witnessed, I swore he looked paler. Even though Toguro was helping out with the fight preparations, it would still take time.

Everyone was rather quiet. I didn't dare to speak. In fact no one did until Yusuke said he was going for a walk. Kuwabara joined him. I suppose the silence was too much.

"Sakura you can be somewhere else if you'd like." Kurama said to me to break the silence after Koenma left to take care of some things himself. "Hiei won't be up for some time, I'd assume." He added.

I smiled and shook my head. "I'm okay staying here. If I went outside with the girls, I'm sure they'd just get picked on for having a half-breed among them. I'm sure they've already gotten called out for being humans. No need to add on to that." I said.

"Is that the only reason?" He mused while looking at Hiei. Kurama, the all-knowing.

I shook my head to answer his question. He was right. I would get stronger yes, but stronger than Hiei? I couldn't see that happening. My feelings would remain one-sided, but just being by his side was enough. He had done more than enough for me. "This is all I can do for now." I said quietly forgetting that Kurama was even still there.

"I see." I heard him say and realized it just wasn't me and Hiei in the room. I blushed and Kurama pulled out a book and engrossed himself in it. I couldn't help but think it was to save me from my embarrassment of just staring at Hiei like that while he was hibernating. I decided it was best to stare at the celling.

I don't know how much time passed, but even Koenma came back at one point. Probably a bit considering I counted the ceiling tiles several times over. But when I grew bored of that I looked down to see Hiei's Jagan eye was opening. In a few seconds, his eyes opened and he got up.

"You're finally awake?" Kurama said looking up from his book.

Hiei looked around. "Where am I? How long have I been out?" He asked the both of us.

"I don't know." I said with a shrug as I hadn't kept count.

"You've been hibernating for over a little six hours." Of course Kurama knew the answer.

"Six hours?" Hiei exclaimed. "Well, who won the tournament?" He asked standing up.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that one. Nothing's changed since you've been last up." Kurama started. "Yusuke and Kuwabara got bored so they went for a walk." He explained calmly.

"You're not making any sense!" Hiei raised his voice.

"It's taking some time to organize since you've leveled the stadium. They were going to have a carrier plane to bring the ring from the old stadium in but Toguro carried it on his back. We should begin shortly." Kurama said casually as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Hiei looked at me and I nodded as he did have the facts right.

We then heard Koto announce the fight was ready to start and she also called out searching for Juri.

Kurama looked at the two of us. "Shall we go Hiei? Sakura?" The two of us nodded and headed out of the room.

We made our way out and headed towards Yusuke and Kuwabara who had come back to the arena rather than the locker room.

"So Genkai didn't show up for her battle." I heard Kuwabara say.

"No you pull your own weight from now on." Hiei said walking up to them.

"Even Hiei's up? Genkai must be really sick!" I hung my head down at his words. I wonder how he'd react if he knew.

Seeing as he had no choice, he stepped into the ring as well as the older Toguro. Juri started the match and Kuwabara started it off by using some kind of sheath that allowed Kuwabara to summon a rather vibrant and crackling sword.

He started off the fight with his usual. Charging in, sword first. I let out a sigh but then my eyes noticed the ground that seemed to crack a little beneath Kuwabara's path. "What's…?"

I didn't get a chance to finish my question only to see Kuwabara had made a hit that split the Older Toguro in half. I took a step back. "Oh gross…did he just…actually do that?"

"Hey, um did Kuwabara just win?" Yusuke asked with shock in his voice.

"I don't know." Kurama answerd.

"I was expecting a little more effort on both sides…" I added in.

"And the winner is Kuwabara!" Juri exclaimed only to end up being shocked as much as the rest of us seeing Kuwabara being struck from the back. What had pierced him had returned to the ground from his backside and a hand emerged from the ground and attached to that hand was…the older Toguro?

Now I was really confused.

The older Toguro from one side returned to the other and disappeared until he was just one and the other was his own hand. This guy's power really disturbed me. He took Kuwabara's sword and questioned if it was a gift from Genkai.

I couldn't see this turning out well.

I was right as he had revealed to Kuwabara right there in the ring that Genkai was dead. Kuwabara turned to us and I glanced over at Yusuke to see him look away. It must have been tough…finding out the way he did.

Toguro stabbed Kuwabara again while he was in his current state. His nasty fingers retracted only to mutilate them into a sick puppet like show of Genkai's death. His story sickened me. Even the younger Toguro called him out.

"That's all crap!" Yusuke shouted out over the story. "Genkai wasn't jealous! Toguro killed her because he couldn't have her!"

"This isn't right…" I said with clenched fists. "How dare he…"

I looked up to see Kuwabara stand up from the last attack. Toguro went and tried to pierce him again but he couldn't. We were all very surprised.

"I see." Kurama said. "Kuwabara's strength and his resolve seem to be closely related!"

I didn't get what that meant until I saw for myself Kuwabara shoot out an extreme blast of what looked like spirit daggers that seemed to slice Toguro into complete bits.

"Wow…he sure got that coming to him." I said watching Kuwabara walk away as Juri began the ten count. I agreed with Koto for once when she said there really wasn't a need for one.

Juri was nearing the count, but was interrupted. I couldn't believe it when it was Toguro's voice that I heard. "Why won't he just stay down…" I said watching in horror as his sliced up body parts began to reconnect and mend themselves over.

His first act after recovery was to extend his fingers again and stab Kuwabara from behind as if he was some kind of voodoo doll.

"Can…he win this?" I asked fearful for Kuwabara's life.

"Don't ask." Hiei answered.

This didn't look good and it was only confirmed when he slammed Kuwabara down signaling Juri to start her count. She stopped once Toguro threatened her as he had other plans for Kuwabara. "Get up…please." I uttered not liking the situation Kuwabara was in.

Toguro with his free hand formed his blade into a hand. "Scream while you can!" He shouted ready to charge.

However, he didn't get the chance too as Kuwabara sent out his energy allowing his sword's sheath to rise up and slice him from behind. He also got his weapon back in the process.

Juri was going to count again, but despite being attacked from the behind, Toguro still repaired himself.

"Will this…ever end?" I asked out loud.

I got my answer shortly though once I saw Kuwabara's sword energy transform into something similar to that of a tennis racket. He yelled something stupid along the lines of 'spirit flyswatter' and used the large area coverage of the weapon to smash Toguro completely.

When the attack was done, from what I could tell and Juri's call, there was nothing left of Toguro. "And the winner is Kuwabara!" Juri announced and I let out a sigh of relief.

Kuwabara walked back over to us and Yusuke approached him first. "About time you won a fight. That was awesome. You alright there man?" He asked only to be met with Kuwabara punching in straight to the face.

"I thought we were a team but I'm just one big joke to you all aren't I?" Kuwabara yelled at us. "This joke has feelings. Genkai meant a lot to me. Did you all sit around and laugh about how clueless I was? Is that how you get your kicks Urameshi?" Kuwabara grabbed Yusuke by the collar of his shirt. "Answer me!" He yelled

"Kuwabara listen." Kurama started.

"This doesn't concern you!" He shouted.

"Yusuke did not tell Hiei, Sakura, or me either." Kurama explained. "We were left to detect her passing for ourselves." I nodded in agreement with Kurama.

"Is this true?" Kuwabara turned back to Yusuke.

"I didn't tell anybody. She died in my arms." Yusuke said solemnly. "I asked Koenma to take her place, temporarily. At least that's what I told everyone. I guess if I never said it, it wouldn't be real. I'd like to think I know better than that. The only way to move on is to give her death the reverence she deserves and give grief its due. That's why I couldn't tell you. I'm sorry you had to find out that way Kuwabara, and I'm sorry you felt we punked you. But I can't apologize for dealing with this the only way I knew how!" Yusuke finished.

Oh Yusuke…

I watched as he walked towards the ring. "Urameshi!" Kuwabara called out and he stopped moving but didn't turn around. "Win this."

I saw Yusuke nod his head slightly. "Right."

I was expecting the fight to start right away, only to see that Sakyo stepped in ahead of the remaining Toguro. I watched carefully as he took the mic from Juri. "I'd like to place one last bet before the fourth match begins." He announced through the microphone.

"What's he planning?" Hiei asked and I shrugged. I agreed with Kuwabara though. It couldn't have been good.

"Of course being on the team owner I'm going to wage on Team Toguro. As for the takes, I offer up my life." He announced.

"If he's dead who'll fight next?" Kuwabara asked.

"Nobody." Koenma answered.

"Sakyo attempts to make this the decisive battle." Hiei said with a smirk. "Very clever."

I listened to Sakyo's proposal intently. He really did want Yusuke and Toguro's battle to be the last. He turned to Koenma hoping he would accept his proposition.

"Yeah I'll do it!" Koenma exclaimed much to our shock. "I accept your challenge. I am putting my life on Yusuke to win."

"Koenma?" Yusuke turned around and he was just as baffled by the ruler's decision.

"Now I know how you feel about me, but don't let that get in your way. At least look like you're trying to win." Koenma said and I couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"And if I lose?" Yusuke dared to question.

"If you don't win I'll already be in a heap of trouble Yusuke. Look at him then look at me. I'm a ruler not a fighter. I bruise easily. Why do you think I have you fight all my battles for me? I helped you get stuck in this whole predicament. As leader of spirit world I can't just fly off in a jet pack and let Sakyo do whatever he wants with all that money." Koenma said. He really did sound like a ruler.

Juri announced the committee had ten minutes to decide and with that everyone in the crowd scrambled to make last minute bets.

After ten minutes, Juri announced the decision. "I've been informed the committee has no objections to Sakyo's proposal. So this next fight between Toguro and Urameshi will be worth two points and that means it'll determine the winner of this year's dark tournament!" She shouted and everyone cheered.

She was about to start the fight, but a sinister laugh rang throughout the ring. "That….laugh…"

My hunch was right. The older Toguro emerged from the ring. "Does this guy ever die?" I shouted in disbelief.

He insulted Genkai and told everyone his plans of reemerging and double-teaming Yusuke with his brother to win this tournament. Talk about dirty.

"Let's go!" Kuwabara shouted, but Kurama stopped him.

"It is not your fight!" Kurama said and I was disappointed with that answer.

"Oh the hell it ain't!" Kuwabara was angry.

"Only those two can determine how this match will be fought." Kurama explained and then I couldn't help but agree.

We all looked into the stadium to see how the situation would pan out for Yusuke. Toguro was getting ready to transform into any weapon to aid out his younger brother.

But…instead of agreeing, I was taken aback by the younger Toguro's actions. He kicked him out of the ring and when he charged back, he punched him out until he was completely out of the stadium.

So he intended to keep this a fight strictly between him and Yusuke. I could appreciate that at least.

Juri announced the fight, and Toguro started off by powering up. His energy was so great that the demons in the crowed began to disintegrate.

"Amazing Toguro's demon energy is so strong that it's literally ripping off the flesh of the weaker apparitions." Hiei noted.

"There not the only ones. I can't take much more in my present state." Kurama stated.

I felt my knees give in a little as well. "He's…really going all out." I said.

"Not a problem. I can handle it." Kuwabara said even though he was being pushed back by the energy.

"Well actually, no you can't Kuwabara. Now all of you stick behind me." Koenma said standing in front of us and placing up a barrier to shield us.

After he was done, Yusuke charged at Toguro and they both landed a hit. They continued to hit one another with Toguro destroying pats of the ring. Eventually he charged right at Yusuke ready to punch him and Yusuke didn't even move. He was going to be killed!

Or so I thought. Toguro stopped at last minute and the two paused to talk to one another. Something about Genkai and the way Yusuke reacted….along with Keiko too.

"Those fools! Why don't they stop dancing around each other and fight! One must never let emotions enter the ring. That was a mistake." Hiei exclaimed.

I shook my head. "You're wrong Hiei." Most of the time I agreed with him, but I felt that for Yusuke, his emotions were needed. They were his drive for fighting spirit…I felt at least anyway.

Yusuke charged up his spirit gun, but he pulled it away and ran towards Toguro landing a flurry of punches on him. The two exchanged a series of blows and dodges, and eventually Toguro sent a powerful punch towards the center of the stadium reducing it to rubble.

Yusuke was sent flying and the bits of the stadium surrounded the two of them. I lost Yusuke's movements momentarily until I saw the bright glow emit from his index finger. He shot a spirit gun at Toguro, and it was a direct hit. Toguro was sent flying completely out of the stadium.

It was quiet and Kuwabara disrupted it by telling Juri to count since Toguro was out of the ring.

"Take a look to see where Yusuke is standing." Hiei pointed out.

"Hey how the heck do you get back in the ring?" Kuwabara asked finally noticing that there was no ring after the last exchanges.

"In this final battle there will be no boundaries." Kurama stated.

"The only rule is kill or be killed." Hiei concluded. "Yusuke is more stronger now than I ever imagined a human could be."

"Even if that hadn't been a direct hit, he would've still done major damage. Yusuke is truly amazing." I said.

"Yet Toguro didn't even try to block his attack." Kurama added in.

"If Toguro can escape a blast that powerful unscathed, there's no telling what he's capable of." Hiei remarked.

"Would you stop being a glass half empty kind of guy already? There's no way he's coming back besides as an ash tray." Kuwabara said and I wish he had been right.

Toguro did return to the arena, and he wasn't an ash tray. No far from it. He looked completely unharmed.

"He's invincible!" Kuwabara shouted falling over. "That's the only explanation for it!" Seems like something common among their family.

Yusuke however seemed unfazed and he even smiled as he wiped the blood off his face. He then proceeded to rip off his sweatbands revealing a glowing bracelet. He removed the other and then it made them look like his hands were cuffed together. His ankles as well.

"I gotta say that's a pretty sissy fashion statement even for Urameshi." Kuwabara said noticing them as well.

"Why would he fight Toguro with a handicap?" Kurama asked.

"It's because he is a cocky fool." Hiei answered.

"What do they do?" I asked

No one answered me as Yusuke had yelled out the words 'avitus' and huge energy poured out from him. It took the form of a phoenix and flew over the stadium before it returned all back to Yusuke. "Such…power…" I couldn't believe it.

Yusuke began a barrage of hits on Toguro now with his new form energy, but he stopped after landing many consecutive hits only to back away from his opponent.

"But why?" Kurama questioned.

"Who knows…" I answered.

"Don't stop now!" Hiei called. Yes, he should've kept going.

Toguro appeared before us again and after Yusuke's hits, I assumed he deflated the guy as all of his muscles were gone, but…something was off.

"I'm afraid a ferocious wolf is lying in wait under that placid sheep's façade." Kurama stated.

"I know it's written on his face." Hiei said. They could sense it too.

Toguro may have looked weak, but he still had a hell of a lot more energy as this power tanked charged himself up once more. During his charge energy blasts shot out from his body and destroyed those who were remaining in the audience. I didn't think it was possible but he had even larger muscles than from before.

When he was done powering up, he didn't move, but somehow still knocked Yusuke back. He sent more shots of whatever it was but Yusuke dodged them and eventually Yusuke fired another spirit gun of his at Toguro. He didn't even pretend to be affected by the blast this time as Toguro stopped the spirit bullet and destroyed it completely.

He sent Yusuke flying into the stadiums and went on about how determined he was to kill now that the strange muscles on his shoulder had opened up and began to vacuum all the souls in the audience.

This was not accepted as they all tried to leave only to have Sakyo summon up large black slates that surrounded the arena. No one could escape. They tried to charge at Toguro but their revolution was short lived as he wiped them out easily. Those who were smart enough to stay behind cheered for Yusuke as they were his only hope.

"The opinion polls have changed." Hiei stated.

I nodded. "It's a little pathetic…but I feel a little sorry for them. Toguro has gone berserk."

Toguro grew bored of Yusuke and instead at where the girls were who thankfully had been protected by Puu. He shot a blast at them. "No!" I shouted only to see they were okay once the smoke cleared from the blast. But Toguro had only been a few feet away from killing them all.

Yusuke angered by this, emerged from Toguro's grip and tried to pummel him, but it wasn't enough.

"You will never let this old woman rest, will you Yusuke?" I had to be hearing voices. I looked around to see that Puu had flown down and was talking to Yusuke…but with Genkai's voice and expression.

"Genkai's come back to life and she looks exactly like Puu!" Kuwabara exclaimed! It seemed she had possessed the spirit beast. But she wasn't there to encourage him.

No, instead, she was telling Toguro to kill one of Yusuke's friends. "What is Genkai doing?" I shouted only to see her fly off and Toguro turning to us.

"How about you Kuwabara?" I heard Toguro's voice and I stood there in shock. Yusuke tried to beat him, but he kept getting pushed away. He continued to walk over to the group and Yusuke kept trying to stop him but to no avail.

"If he makes it over here, the four of us must fight him together." Kurama said.

"With what secret weapon? There is no way in hell Sakura is fighting this battle and you've barely been able to stand up since your flirting with death." Hiei reminded Kurama of his fight with Karasu.

"Of course, I should've excluded Sakura." Kurama chuckled only to be met with my glares. "Yes your darkness flame technique hasn't left of much you either. We could run if you want." He suggested.

"Don't be simple. I'll take Toguro alone if I must." Hiei concluded.

Toguro was getting closer. "I don't care what you say. I'll fight too if I must."

"Figured." Hiei said dully. "Ready?" He asked us and we were all ready to charge, but Kuwabara stepped in front of us all.

"Stay back guys, I'm the one he wants." He told us.

"Stop and think Kuwabara." Kurama advised.

"It's no time for your showmanship. Face Toguro alone, and you'll die before this minute is over." Hiei warned.

"Kuwabara, don't be so reckless!" I shouted. Though I suppose I shouldn't be one to talk.

"Hey Koenma you placed your life on Urameshi's fight and now I'm going to do the same." Kuwabara's stand was resolute. "So make a place for me. Make sure my wake is as good as his. There's no stopping him, if I'm going to go now, I'm going to go charging at him full speed!" And he did just that. The idiot.

I watched in horror as Toguro had pierced Kuwabara who was running full swing with his spirit sword, in his chest cavity. He collapsed and we all ran towards him.

Kurama was the first to reach him. "Hold on Kuwabara! Hold on, you're not dead." I heard Kurama say quietly.

"Yeah Toguro missed my vital organs but pretend to be sad. Urameshi could use some good shock treatment." I heard Kuwabara speak quietly.

"That's…"

_For once the fool is right. You can act sad can't you Sakura?_ Hiei communicated towards me and I nodded hanging my head down.

_Speak for yourself, you don't even like Kuwabara._ I shot back at him as I made myself look sad. _Hn._

"Stay with us Kuwabara. Just stay….with us…" Kurama sounded dejected and Kuwabara made his body go limp.

I looked up to see Yusuke completely devastated. I'm sorry Yusuke. His energy completely released and filled up the stadium.

"The energy of Yusuke's has changed dramatically." Kurama noticed.

"The loss of his friend is too great of a shock." Koenma stated. "The walls are coming down."

Now, I felt really bad, but I could see how it was needed. This energy that surrounded everyone. It felt so warm. So different from what he emanated from before. "Yusuke…"

Toguro punched Yusuke and he was knocked into the stadium wall, but Toguro claimed he wasn't affected or felt pain by that hit at all.

"Yusuke's truly done it. He's learned how to play on a level playing field with Toguro." Hiei said amazed at how much Yusuke could change in one fight.

"Level, yes, but at the same time it's completely different." Kurama observed.

Yusuke hadn't done anything and Toguro felt the need to threaten to kill another one of us off. However, there was no need as Yusuke stopped him in his tracks.

In fact, the two began to fight again and Yusuke fired another Spirit gun that knocked Toguro into the stadium.

But it was all for show. Yusuke knew it and demanded Toguro to go full power as he was planning to shoot one last blast at him with everything he had.

Toguro got up and he rearranged his neck and made the sickening knuckle popping sound. I couldn't believe my eyes, but he was in fact charging up again. Yusuke too was powering up his spirit gun and he let out his final blast which was much bigger and stronger than anything I've ever seen. It was a shame Kuwabara had to pretend to be knocked out.

Toguro ran right for Yusuke's fired blast and once again, he still managed to get a grip on it despite its large size. But even still, it seemed he was struggling a little.

"Toguro has not released himself from the spirit gun yet." Hiei said what I was thinking.

"But if this blast isn't enough to make him fall, Yusuke will have no more power to fight him. Toguro will triumph." Kurama reminded us.

Toguro eventually did seem to get a good grip and looked as if he had his arms slowly wrapping around the blast until it disappeared. Yusuke was done. He could do more as he collapsed to the ground.

Toguro stood there. He won…

However, I was wrong. The outer layer of Toguro then seemed to crack and his muscles shattered and beneath it revealed the Toguro that had gone into the fight. However, he was badly damaged. I heard him thank Yusuke before he too collapsed.

"They're both out?" Koenma exclaimed.

I frowned but then my eyes lit up to see Yusuke was struggling to get up.

"Juri behind you!" I heard Koto exclaimed and the announcer turned around to see Yusuke was in fact getting up.

"He did it!" I yelled out.

"We are free." Kurama said happily.

Koto ran her way over to Juri and the two stood side by side facing Yusuke. "Winner of the Dark Tournament! Team Urameshi!"

Their announcement was met with loud cheers despite how few of them there were left in the audience. Then again, I too joined in on it. It was finally over.

"Finally the Toguro's fall." Kurama stated.

"It's been quite a long run." Hiei said and I smiled at him. "It sure has…" I said looking over to see Yusuke ready to collapse.

We all rushed over to him and Kurama helped him stand. "Easy does it. No sleeping just yet." He told Yusuke. "Snap out of it! You have your victory!" He shouted to get Yusuke out of his daze.

"Am I alive?" Yusuke asked.

"Of course do you see any halos on us?" Koenma asked. "Everything is a-ok now."

Yusuke looked past us and he then fell to the ground. "No it's not. No it's not! Dammit! If I hadn't been such an irresponsible kid. If I didn't have concrete walls between my stupid emotions. I had all the strength to save him. I was just too dumb to reach it. The hell do I say to that?" Yusuke said and I felt such pain in his words.

"You say you learned." Kurama advised.

"Shut up! What good does that do? He's already dead. I can't say anything to him now. Is that so hard to get? I'm just like everyone with power. I don't do anything to help. I'm sorry Kuwabara!" Yusuke yelled out. I couldn't stand this any longer.

"Okay!" I heard Kuwabara as if he read my mind. "I think you've done enough groveling for one day. Though it is pretty entertaining. Reporting for duty captain faker that's me!" Kuwabara shouted dancing around completely unaffected.

"Hey why is the dead guy walking around?" Yusuke shouted at us completely baffled by the turn of events.

"Yes well I tried to inform you, but you were too engrossed in your speech." Kurama said clearing his throat.

"The heart! The finger poking!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"You're a moving public speaker by the way. Look he never died." Kurama started to explain to Yusuke exactly what had happened.

"How does it feel to be out of the loop-de-loop?" Kuwabara asked once Kurama was done.

"All of you guys were in on this?" Yusuke asked all of us.

"Naturally." Koenma said.

"I'm sorry." I said poking my index fingers together in a guilty fashion. "Hiei told me too." And I was met with a glare from him.

"And you let me cry like a baby?" Yusuke was slowly piecing things together.

"You said it yourself. It was your fault." Hiei lectured. "If you could've reached your power on your own, the fake death wouldn't have been needed. And you wouldn't look like such a child." I laughed a little as Hiei's speech had gone unnoticed.

"I highly doubt he heard you." Kurama pointed out and Hiei witnessed Kuwabara brutally being beaten up by Yusuke out of revenge.

"You'll really kill him if this continues!" I reminded Yusuke who stopped and let Kuwabara fall to the ground.

"Still doesn't explain why Toguro missed dufus boy's heart." Yusuke said looking at his fallen opponent.

"Oh yeah I forgot about that, dufus brain. You think all of his years as a hired killer he knew where'd the heart would be." Kuwabara said after recovering.

"Hmph, he obviously knew Kuwabara. I say your defense level rose dramatically and prevented your heart from being pierced. Your stubbornness is even greater than your stupidity." Hiei explained.

"I suggest an alternative. He didn't want Kuwabara to die. The outcome was exactly what he was looking for." Kurama theorized.

"You mean he threw the fight?" Kuwabara asked.

"No, he wanted to lose legitimately." Kurama tried to explain.

Sakyo stepped in and tried to explain his reasoning to which I tuned out. It was something we weren't meant to know.

He did however bring up the bet and Koenma said it was called off, but Sakyo intended to go through with it. He pulled out a remote and pressed a button. With that the stadium began to shake violently.

"Stadium detonation, fifteen minutes." A voice called out. Sakyo left and we just stood there not knowing what to do.

Koenma ran off saying he had things to settle with Sakyo and left us to go get the girls who were still in the audience. Well crowd considering everyone dispersed in pure panic.

It was hard to wade through the crowds, but Kuwabara fixed that problem once he saw Yukina and made a path by charging right through and tossing aside any demon in his way.

"Why'd Toguro missed?" Hiei asked.

I let out a sigh. "He is truly special."

"Well we might as well follow his path." Kurama chuckled lightly and we followed.

Getting up there, I saw Kuwabara stand there dumbly as Yukina was going to get smashed by collapsing wall. "Hiei!" I turned to see he was no longer by my side but had moved Yukina out of the way. I let out a sigh of relief.

Of course Hiei chastised Kuwabara, but there was no chance to retaliate as Botan called out to him.

"Yusuke! Keiko's not well!" Botan exclaimed once Yusuke came into view as he was being helped by Kurama so he was slower than the rest of us.

"What?" He released himself from Kurama and went over to Keiko.

"Post-traumatic stress, and like everything else, she excels at it." Botan explained.

"Hey, Keiko?" Yusuke tried to talk to her but no response. He shook her but that didn't work. He eventually resorted to slapping her.

"What the hell are you doing?" I shouted.

Though Keiko did snap out of it and she smacked Yusuke right into the ground.

Eventually both recovered and we all made a run for it. We ended up running to what we thought was an exit, but it was blocked off. We were done for sure, but the barrier was destroyed and the other side was Jin, Touya, Rinku and Chu. Yusuke really did have a knack for making friends. We all ran out together and made it out safely just in time to see the entire arena blow up and self-destruct.

"Talk about going out with a bang…" I murmured only to hear Botan exclaim shortly after.

"What's the matter Botan?" Kuwabara asked.

"The prizes for winning the tournament!" She shouted. "You were each supposed to get something you wanted." She reminded them.

"I was going to get famous." Kuwabara said dejectedly now realizing the wishes.

"It doesn't matter. Those bastards up in the tournament committee wouldn't have been able to give us what we wanted anyway." Yusuke said and I couldn't help but think of Master Genkai. "It's done we finished it Genkai!" He shouted out to the remains of the stadium.

-x-

A day passed and we all were spending what little moments we had left on the island. The girls and I walked on the beach and had visited the memorial we set up for Master Genkai.

"So what now?" Keiko asked. "Things will be so much different once we get back."

I nodded. "Yeah. Though I'm sure you'll be happy, with having Yusuke back home." I told her.

She nodded. "Yeah…it'll be nice." She said with a serene smile.

"What about you kid? Going to follow Hiei around?" Shizuru asked me and I felt my face blush a little.

"D-Don't be silly Shizuru! He would just find it annoying and be all 'stop being a puppy you fool!'" I tried doing a bad imitation to which the other girls just laughed.

"Cat's out of the bag. Can't hide from us Sakura." Botan said mischievously with a meow.

I glared at her. "Have I mentioned I'm not fond of felines?" She quickly backed off but I laughed. "No, things will be quiet for a while. I don't mind it one bit!"

It was true. Without danger looming, it was going to be hard to keep training. Considering that, it'd be awhile until I got stronger. I refused to acknowledge my feelings until that day came.

We all decided to head back to the hotel and packed up since the ship would be leaving today.

We met up with the boys in the lobby and somehow they all convinced Kuwabara to hold our bags for us. We left the hotel and headed outside as we waited for the ship to come in.

Before we made it to the ship though, Botan insisted on a picture. Shizuru automatically declined. Botan was too busy fidgeting with the camera she pulled out to say anything otherwise. All of us wanted to just leave, but we would never hear the end of it if we all declined.

"Okay, we are good to go!" Botan said enthusiastically once she finished fidgeting around.

"Great." Kuwabara said but he didn't mean it one bit. His expression changed once he addressed Yukina. "Uh, hey Yukina! Wanna stand by me in the picture?" He asked her.

"No, Kazuma, are you mad? Cameras can take your soul away." She reasoned and I felt just as baffled as Kuwabara that she believed something like that. "It's far too risky."

He tried to convince her otherwise. "Ah, that's just a superstition probably!"

"No, I won't!" She flatly refused and Kuwabara was left dejected.

I shrugged and made my way over to Yusuke and Keiko who were standing next to each other, of course, in front of the camera, waiting patiently…for the most part.

"What's wrong?" Keiko asked frowning when looking at Yusuke.

"Nothing…just your cheeks are looking a little puffy, that's all." Yusuke replied. A bad reply.

"My weights none of your business, you jerk!" Keiko called him out and the two started to fight. Yeah this picture was never going to be taken.

"Will you lovebirds behave for five seconds?" Botan asked. "Hold on, where's Hiei?" She asked and I looked to see he wasn't in the photo vicinity at all.

Turning my head I could see he was trying to be far away from it. He turned to us. "This is absurd."

Yusuke and Kurama immediately went over and grabbed him against his will and dragged him into the picture. "Get off me you fools!" He shouted and tried to escape.

"He's shy." Kurama stated and promptly dropped him in front of the camera and next to me.

"Alright, here I come!" Botan announced starting the timer for the camera and then headed into the shot with us.

I looked over at Hiei. "Come on, would it kill you to smile?" I teased and then readied myself to smile just in time as the flash went off.

After it did, I noticed Hiei had cocked his head to the side and I let out a sigh. "I suppose getting you into the picture is good enough." I laughed. "Hey, Botan, I want a copy of that!" I called out as we made our way over the hills and to the dock to wait for our ship.

"Have fun?" Shizuru asked when we met up with her and of course the girls nodded.

"You know I'm actually going to miss this place." Yusuke said.

"Feels like we've been here for years." Kuwabara added on

"Losing someone can make you feel that way." Botan started but was promptly quieted by Kuwabara until the ship came.

"Back to skipping detentions." Yusuke said.

"And video games!" Kuwabara said happily.

"My human mother." Kurama said with content.

"Various crimes." I couldn't help but chuckle slightly at Hiei's comment.

"Alright! Let's go home!" Yusuke cheered.

"Well excuse me if I'm a little insulted." I heard a familiar voice and turned around to see it was true. It was actually Master Genkai standing up on the hill…alive!

"You just going to leave the old fossil behind?" She asked. Botan was the first to run to her and Kuwabara did as well. I ran over with everyone else and even Hiei came over. Yusuke was the only one who remained rooted.

"Must've rubbed off on me dimwit. I died like you. Half-assed." She said with a smile to Yusuke.

"Genkai! Come here you beautiful hag!" Yusuke shouted running up!

Everything was alright again. We all boarded the ship and set sail. I stood next to Hiei and admired the view. "What do you plan to do when you get back?" He asked me as everyone else had broken out into small conversations.

I shrugged. "Not sure. Perhaps visit the mansion. See if there's anything left now that everyone in my family is basically dead." I said quietly. "Follow you around." I joked. "Though you'll probably find a way to evade me."

"Hn, I suspected as much." He said looking away. I was quite surprised he didn't try to shoo me away right then and there.

I let out a small smile. "Well…I can always whistle." I said.

He looked at me and rolled his eyes. "I hope you've improved on that a little bit if not anything else."

"Perhaps. We've come a long way." I said staring out into the sea. We all had come a very long way indeed.

-x-

A/N: I'm terribly sorry for the wait everyone! It was a last minute decision to have the entire end put in so that took a lot more time! I hope you guys enjoy, leave a review and look forward to the next saga! Chapter Black!


	14. Games

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: And now the beginning of Chapter Black!

-x-

I got off of the bus stop and looked around hesitantly. It was quiet and not many people were around. It was a bit past noon so students were still in class and adults had enjoyed their lunch and went back to work. Still, I didn't want to let my guard down as I tugged the hood covering my head further down to better hide my face.

It had been a good month since the end of the Dark Tournament. Things were indeed quiet. Kuwabara and Yusuke both returned to school. Yusuke seemed snappy the last time I visited him, but I figured it was just his attitude. Kuwabara was still depressed over the departure of Yukina.

Botan and Koenma had returned to Spirit World. Apparently there was quiet a mess to deal with concerning their absence. I was glad that my job as Yusuke's replacement was no more because paperwork seemed like such a chore.

Kurama quickly went back to his normal human life rather easily and I visited him on occasion. His mother was also doing well and from what I heard, she was dating someone.

As for Hiei…

"_Considering that there's no immediate threat to you with the Toguro's out of the way, I trust you won't be following me anymore?" He asked with his back turned to me._

"_Well…true but I was thinking we could possibly train together some more…or perhaps…"_

"_Stop relying on others. Get stronger of your own accord."_

And those were his last words before he warped off. That was about half a week after we returned from Hanging Neck Island. I hadn't seen him since.

I walked the streets and avoided the looks I was getting. The hood did look suspicious but it was easier to hide my face this way. My hair had grown longer during the time at the tournament and for not cutting it since we had gotten back. Of course it was a temporary thing, but it would do well while I was here back in Ayanagi.

In the news, the disappearance of my grandfather and those of the black black club were labeled as social kidnappings, due to their ranks in society. However, considering their bodies were still in the stadium when it had detonated, the search would no doubt lead to a dead end.

I came back to the mansion only to see if Butajiri left anything behind that could be of some use. As expected when I arrived there, the mansion was empty. The workers no doubt dispersed once they realized their paycheck holder was gone and not coming back. There wasn't a sign up to mark the house for sale, but I'm sure it would be there in due time.

The door was unlocked and I headed inside. Nothing. I felt comfortable to take off my hood. "Jeez, it was getting hot in that thing." I said to no one but I felt the silence had to be interrupted.

I headed up to my old room. It had been cleaned up since the last time I was there and Hiei and Kurama had rescued me from it. All my belongings were gone. The drawers and closet were empty. I wasn't expecting too much.

I headed to my father's room. It too was empty and devoid of any of his personal belongings. I didn't linger around for long because being in that room made me feel uneasy.

My last stop in the mansion was my grandfather's room. Perhaps there was some sort of hints about my demon mother. My grandfather's room still had his belongings and I was a little curious as to what other secrets he had. I opened up some drawers and found some money and put that away into my pocket.

After rummaging a bit more, to my surprise, I found some video tapes labeled 'monster'. There were several of them and I took a few and went to a room that had a VCR player in it. I couldn't help but assume I would be in these video tapes.

I placed one video in and it was within a few moments that I saw me as a child walking along the hallways of the mansion. I fast forwarded and there were scenes of me in the kitchen, backyard, and other parts of the mansion. I get it. My grandfather had set up cameras to monitor me even when I was just a little kid.

I took it out and picked what I assumed to be the latest one. I fast forwarded through most of it, but stopped when I saw it was me and my father talking. I had muted the videos in case anyone came to the mansion, but I didn't need sound to know what was going on. It was the last conversation I had with my father. It was when he told me I had demon blood.

I fast forwarded it again and stopped when my grandfather came into the room. I knew how this conversation went…but I wanted to hear it again. I turned the volume up and allowed the conversation of my father and grandfather to take place.

"You know it. Don't you? That little monster, she's why you're sick." My grandfather yelled and made obscene gestures in the video.

"And if she did? It makes no difference. She's my daughter, also she already knows of her demon blood." I remembered the rest of the conversation that followed.

"Aren't you afraid of her?" My grandfather yelled.

"Of course I'm afraid." I remembered that phrase very clearly. "I'm afraid that when I'm gone she'll deal with people like you labeling her that way. Sakura is Sakura. She's always been that way." He said.

I had run away to my room before I heard any of those words. But now…more than anything…I wish I hadn't.

My father had always loved me and he tried his best to protect me in any way possible. I was ashamed for doubting him. Why couldn't he leave? My grandfather was no longer around for me to take out my anger. That only left my mother who I had a growing hatred towards to. She took away someone very important to me. That was unforgiveable.

I grabbed some money from a stash my grandfather kept. I'm sure it would be of some use. I then summoned my weapon and cut off my hair that had been grown out. I didn't plan on coming back here again. At least, not until my I avenged my father. Plus, I didn't need the disguise any longer. My hair returned to its above the shoulders cut and because it was done with my weapon, the edges were uneven, and I grew to like that look on me.

I headed outside and into the backyard. I headed to where my father's grave was, and I noticed despite never finding a body, my grandfather's grave was there too. I even had one, even though I was still alive. It was my first time seeing it though. I wonder if it was wise for me to see it.

I was going to read its contents, but I froze when I heard a familiar voice ask what I was doing here.

I pulled my hood up to hide my face. With my recent loss in locks, there was more space to pull it down further. The two approached me. From one of their questions earlier, there was no doubt it was Maki and Arisa.

"Who are you?" Maki asked me. I didn't say a thing. Instead I looked slightly up and over at my grave.

"Did you know Sakura too?" Arisa asked me. She had a bouquet of flowers with her.

I just nodded my head. "I see." Maki said with hesitation in her voice. "Well…whoever you are…it's nice to see we weren't the only ones to remember Sakura's birthday."

My eyes widened. Was today…really my birthday? It most likely was. My human birthday anyway. Who was to say I was actually born that day. But going along with it…I'd be sixteen today. I didn't even remember my own birthday, and here were two people who were no doubt ditching school to deliver flowers to a supposed dead person.

I deepened my voice a bit. Though I'm sure it changed a little over the past, it was still a precaution I took. "Do you always ditch school on her birthday?" I asked.

Arisa set down the flowers. "Yeah, her grandfather never did anything to commemorate the day. The old guy has his own nice gravestone too. Probably deserved it!" She said throwing a fist at his marker.

"Arisa!" Maki reprimanded her. I wanted to laugh. They hadn't changed. "Even if it's true…we shouldn't bring him up on her birthday…it's a joyous occasion. Right, Sakura?" She asked the gravestone as she knelt down beside it. "Happy sixteenth birthday." She said closing her hands in a small prayer.

"Do you even know what Sakura means?" I asked them and they looked up at me to which I pulled my hood down further, if it could go any further that is. "The cherry blossom flower represents a life that's fleeting. Short. Momentary. Just like this girl's."

I turned my back to them. "Her life is over. Just like a cherry blossom, it was short and now it's over. Move on, the flowers have already wilted." I told them. It was true. The life of Sakura Kayano was over. It was a mere matter of when the life of just Sakura would end. Is that why I was named the way I was. It had to be. To remember my life as a half breed was short in a non-accepting world and ill-fated.

"Why you-!" Arisa was angry and ready to pounce, but I suppose Maki had stopped her.

"If that's what you think, then why did you visit?" She asked me.

"Because this is my last time visiting. You can't bring back the dead. There's no point." I answered curtly. "I advise you two do the same." The idea of them coming every year, while sweet, I couldn't help but feel it was a waste of their time on someone they didn't truly know.

I turned my head to the side to see Maki was smiling and shaking her head. "Sakura…the name also means kind and gentle. Our friend very much lived up to her name. Flowers bloom, and yes, they wilt, but flowers have another job besides looking pretty. They pollinate with other flowers. They help other flowers grow and then someday, they grow back as well."

"Maki's right!" Arisa chimed in. "Sakura…she's gone now, but she's continuing to blossom. Even if we forget her, just like the cherry blossoms that come back every spring, surely the memories will too."

My vision was getting a bit misty. They really were stupid…but I was wrong. They really did know me. "Fine…do what you want." I said regaining my composure and shrugging at the two of them. I walked away from the two of them, thankful they didn't bother to try and ask who I was. I suppose my voice detection worked.

"It didn't." I looked up and I could see up in the branches the voice had in fact belonged to Hiei. He jumped down from where he stood and approached me. I gave him an inquisitive look. "It's not like they think you are their deceased friend who came back to life. They are suspicious on how similar you sound to someone who should be dead."

"So you read their minds." I said as I put my hood down since the two of us were out of sight from Maki and Arisa. "It's been awhile since you've visited, Hiei." I said with a small smile at him.

He nodded. "Don't be so quick to assume. Koenma sent me here. Apparently it'd be a big problem if humans were to run into their dead friend who was perfectly alive." He narrowed his eyes at me. "Just what were you thinking returning here especially with a stupid disguise of only growing your hair out?"

I grasped a few strands of my hair. "Well I just cut it. I don't plan to return here again, so there's no need to keep it at the length it was." I said. "Besides, I had my hood up." They weren't very good excuses, but it was all I had.

"Pathetic." He said rolling his eyes at me. "Well at least your hair has returned to the length it should be." He remarked.

I looked at him inquisitively. "Do you prefer shorter hair?" I asked.

"Don't be so stupid. I could care less for outward appearances. For a fighter like you, lengthier hair would just hinder your fighting style. Besides…you seem more determined with that look, that or you seem to have reached a new resolve."

He always seemed so observant. But it was true. After seeing those tapes of my father and having that small conversation with my friends, I felt like I had a second wind in wanting to get stronger and continuing the search for my mother.

"Considering you have no reason to come back, I guess that fool Koenma can rest easy knowing you won't be causing alarm of the dead coming back to life. I suppose my job here is done." And with that he warped away.

I stood there quietly for a moment brushing some strands of my hair. I felt as if I had gotten a compliment from it, and was now priding its current length and felt I should keep it slightly above my shoulders more often. I then put my fingers up to my lips and made one of my trademark screeching whistles. I waited a couple of seconds unsure if he would come back, but he did.

"Did…Koenma really send you?" I asked. "I don't see why it's such a big deal. Yusuke came back from the dead and even went back to school." I smiled at him.

"You made that repulsive noise just to ask me that?" He glared at me. "I trust you should know I loathe doing pointless things such as coming back here for your own curiosity. Consider that warning as a birthday present. Otherwise-"

"Hmm? You'd slit my throat on my birthday?" I teased. Though inside, I was surprised he knew. He must have overheard. "Well thank you so much for the thought. It's a lovely gift." I said with sarcasm.

I could tell he was growling a little bit at my display. No matter what he said, I couldn't help but think that he was just keeping track on me. I let out a small laugh. "Thank you! I'll make sure to return the favor for you birthday." I said light heartedly.

"Hn." Hiei turned his head away from me before disappearing again. I wondered for how long this time. As I stared at the spot he once stood, I noticed a makai insect fly by and I promptly killed it. I shrugged it off as nothing.

In any case, while he was gone I suppose I should get some work done. I figured meeting up with Kurama was a good way to start. He could help me visit spirit world and then ask Koenma if he knew any more information about my kind, or even better, my mother.

I made it over to the city where Kurama's school was. I had hoped to get there earlier, but night was falling so I doubt there'd be a chance to be able to go to spirit world as I'm sure he'd want to get home to his human mother.

As expected, by the time I arrived, the school was closed. "Hmm…now what?" I thought to myself.

Before I could decide on what to do, a loud piercing sound entered my eardrums. It was absolutely brain shattering and I couldn't help but drop down to my knees. I covered my ears, but it was still extremely annoying and shrill. The sound stopped and I had to investigate.

"That can't be normal." I said as I ran over to the source only to end up at a park. In the middle of the park, I saw Hiei leaving the small group that was composed of Kurama, Botan and Kuwabara.

"Thanks for the invite guys." I said making my way over.

"You have Sakura now. Let her go play rescue mission." Hiei remarked upon seeing my arrival.

"I wonder Hiei, how you like being on probation? Bolted down to one city?" Botan asked.

"What do you think?" He snapped back.

"Well if you hope bring Yusuke alive, I'll have Koenma cut your sentence to time served." She declared.

"Wait," I interrupted. "Yusuke alive? What, he's been kidnapped or something?" I couldn't believe that.

Kuwabara nodded. "Sure you want to do that?" He asked Botan. "I mean maybe Sakura can convince him or something…" He added in.

"I don't even know what's going on!" I exclaimed.

Botan shook her head. "There's no choice. We're almost out of time." She said and they all turned to Hiei.

"Fighting humans to win my freedom? Yes…sounds like a deal." He said with a smirk.

And with that we all headed to some sort of mansion. They explained to me on the way there and let me read Yusuke's ransom note for myself. I couldn't believe Yusuke was able to be kidnapped. I mean this was the Dark Tournament champion.

We arrived at the mansion and it looked out of place. The dimensions didn't seem right and it looked like it had sprung out of the ground overnight. "Is this the place? Looks deformed…" Kuwabara noted.

"It's the only old mansion on the block." Botan said with hesitation in her voice.

"Well either way, stay here, Sakura and Botan. Whatever's in this house, it's not safe for non-fighters." Kuwabara noted.

My eyes narrowed at his words. "What was that about a non-fighter?" I said not happy.

"Well I mean being a girl and all…" He must have seen the annoyed look on my face as she promptly stopped talking.

"Well that's sweet of you Kuwabara, but I'm going." Botan said. "With Yusuke out and you missing your spirit energy, I'm the only one who can use the detective tools." Botan reminded. "Sakura can use them too with her spirit energy, but I'm sure we'll need her talents for elsewhere."

I nodded. "Yeah I'll definitely be going on."

Kurama agreed with us. "Yes, our strength lies in numbers."

We arrived at the door only to find a piece of paper taped to it. "Instructions?" I asked.

Botan closely examined it and began to read it. "Once enter this do not, ever utter the word hot."

"Some kind of riddle?" Kuwabara asked.

"No, it's a warning." Kurama interjected. "There's no way to know if it's real. We may as well take precaution." He advised.

"Right, nobody say hot." Kuwabara said and with that he was shushed by Botan as we had decided to enter.

Well the insides reflected the outsides. The room was weird and had an eerie red glow. The furniture was at a slant due to the floors and the temperatures were much different compared to the cool night skies outside. On top of that I felt something strange when we first entered.

"It's all twisted." Kuwabara observed.

"And that steam. It's like an oven it's so-" I was worried Botan was going to say the word but Kurama had stopped her in time.

"Remember the word we're not saying." He advised again.

Hiei took a step forward and spoke. "Kurama, Sakura, do you feel that?" He asked.

I nodded. "Something's off…"

"Yes." Kurama added on. "When we entered, the energy schematic changed…like we've been transported to a different space."

"Or a different space and time." We all turned to see someone was waiting for us. He sat on a couch and he had glasses that made his freckles more visible from what I could see. He had black hair that was short but had a slight coil to them. "Welcome to the house everyone. So glad you made it." He said and his voice held something strange about it. But the most peculiar thing was that he was wearing Kurama's school uniform.

"Yeah, that's him!" Kuwabara spoke out. "One of the guys Urameshi left with."

"Ah recognition. I love how that feels." He said. His tone made me hate the guy already. And that's without adding in the condition that he had potentially kidnapped one of my friends.

"Listen dork, I don't know who you think you are but we're no normal school kids." Kuwabara threatened.

"His name is Kaito." Kurama clarified.

"How did you know that?" Kuwabara asked Kurama.

"He's a classmate." So, I was right. "His scores are second to mine. I've never spoken to him personally. And naturally I've never told him about you guys." Kurama confirmed my theory. "Kaito where have you gotten your info? And why have you kidnapped Yusuke?"

He went on to explain things I didn't really care to know. I just wanted a straight answer. Yusuke…we were going to save him.

Before I knew it, Hiei had stepped forward. "You'll agree my impatience for human fools will be an asset." He said and he launched right at Kaito with his sword. The results were a barrier was formed and his sword smashed to bits.

Safe to say I wasn't expecting that from a student of Kurama's school.

"As you see, this is a very special room where brute strength cannot exist. Only your words have power here. Just follow my one posted rule." Kaito said as if he suddenly had all the power in the world. "You're just a tiny swordless man." I caught his last words directed at Hiei.

"I'll find a way to strangle him…" I muttered.

"Control your temper Hiei!" I was surprised that Kurama hadn't said anything to me but then again I wasn't the one who looked ready to do something. Hiei stood up straight and didn't seem to flinch.

"Hn. Any buffoon can make a shield. How do we know your other claim isn't a bluff? No three letter word can rule my fate. 'Hot.'" He uttered and then suddenly a light seemed to engulf him and he was turned to stone.

"Hiei! Why'd you have to say hot!" I screamed. "Oh no…"

-x-

I don't know what happened but I felt as if I had a portion of my time taken away from me. It was a rather scary thing. Especially since the last thing I remember seeing was Hiei as a stone figure.

To my great relief, I saw that he was okay. I also saw Kurama sitting in a chair with a calm expression and plants were around the room were beginning to disappear.

"Kaito's territory is no more." He said to us.

I noticed that we were all normal but it was now Kaito who had turned into a stone figure and he had a ridiculous expression on his face.

"Yeah all tricked at his own crazy game of pretend. He got it in the end." Kuwabara said. "Man we'd be toasted without you Kurama. And no thanks to you Hiei. Getting in trouble with your 'I'm so tough act.'" He chastised Hiei only to have him look away.

I placed my pointer fingers together in embarrassment because if it wasn't for Hiei saying 'hot', I'm sure I wouldn't have either. I needed to learn to keep my cool better.

"It's true he nearly had us." Kurama said. "Ironic. After all his great intentions, the one thing to unravel him is a laugh."

Kurama showed us a key he had gotten and we were able to unlock some doors. However, another note stated that we needed permission of the other guy that was apparently in the room to continue further. Apparently he was knocked out by Kurama as well.

"Why do I miss out on all the good things?" I asked to myself while we waited for the guy with the freakishly tall hair to wake up.

"Because you went and uttered the taboo word?" Kuwabara said.

"It was a hypothetical question." I said with my eyes narrowing at him.

He wanted to get another word in I'm sure, but before he could, the guy woke up. He was getting a grasp of his surroundings when we all surrounded him.

He chuckled as if it was all no big deal. "Looks like you guys defeated my old pal, Kaito. Very impressive."

Kurama brought up the note and asked him about the need of his approval to continue on. It was annoying going by their rules, especially when they kept hanging Yusuke's life in front of us.

"If you know what's good for you, you will give us your approval unless you harbor a death wish." Hiei threatened him.

"May I remind you your death threats don't work here, so keep your mouth shut and do exactly what I tell you." He spat.

It irritated me even more the way they treated Hiei. "Why you-"

"Same goes for you lover girl." He said as he decided to lead us elsewhere.

"If Yusuke gets kidnapped ever again I'm going to kill him instead!" I fussed over the nickname tall hair boy gave me. It was completely unnecessary.

He led us to a rather large room that had doors on one side. The doors were open and all you could see were stairs in each room.

Apparently we each had to choose a different door to go through and at the top it would lead us to Yusuke. The need to separate us did seem rather fishy.

"Oh, I forgot!" Botan remarked. "Here it is." She said rummaging through her briefcase of items. "This clever little gadget will blow you away!" She said holding out some round stickers.

I was going to ask what it was but Kuwabara decided to go ahead and ask and the way those two were acting I felt like I was on some ridiculous television advertisement.

"Give me a break…"

She kept on explaining though using Kuwabara as a dummy by putting the sticker on him to which he couldn't remove. "Only the applier can remove it." She stated and she pulled it off with ease while Kuwabara strugged.

"Whoa awesome. What else?" He asked sounding a bit annoyed by the little 'show' they were putting on.

"If the person dies, the seal will fall." She also explained the colors that indicated a person's health. "Blue if all is well. Yellow if slightly hurt and red if seriously injured."

"I see, so we should our names on the seal and attach it to one another." Kurama pieced together. "Hopefully, these are allowed?" He asked turning to tall haired guy who looked completely bored.

"Whatever, I don't care." He said and that was good enough permission for me as I wrote my name on the stickers and stuck them to Kurama, Kuwabara and Botan.

"Well they're all blue." Botan said once we had attached them to mostly everyone. "Glad to know we're all okay. Everyone, except you Hiei." We all turned to see he was far away from us as possible.

"I don't need them." He said flatly.

"Sure you do." Botan said walking over to Hiei. "You want to know we're okay."

She attempted to attach a sticker to Hiei but he stopped her. "Touch me and I break your wrist." He threatened again.

Of course because of Botan's distraction, Kurama was able to stick a sticker onto Hiei. "Could it be Hiei, forgot that his soul was the first to be lost?" He reminded him.

"So there rebel." Botan said sticking hers on now that Hiei really had no choice.

"He told you." Kuwabara snickered placing his sticker on as well.

I chuckled a little as I placed my sticker onto Hiei. "It's your job to make sure I'm safe." I said with a smile.

He turned his head away. "Hn." He walked over to a door. "Let's just get this over with." I let out a sigh. Where was the Hiei I had talked with earlier during the day.

I shook my head for such a silly thought and selected a door of my own. We were all ready and at the same time we took a step forward through each separate door. I walked up a series of a flight of stairs.

What I thought was just a straight line of stairs, it eventually began to curve and spiral. I don't know how long I spent climbing them, but I was getting tired. I then stopped realizing that I hadn't really progressed anywhere it seemed. The spiraling was some sort of an illusion. In reality I was just walking in a circle.

I summoned my weapon and launched the blade like a boomerang as it spun around the circular path I had been walking. It sliced up the wall that was surrounding me but there was one spot that didn't get affected. I walked over and pushed on it only to have it reveal another path.

I went through it and it wasn't long before I saw another door. Tricky. I opened it and the first thing I saw was Yusuke just standing there. The others had flanked my sides too. We all reached the top at the same time.

"Welcome." There was a high school student with blonde hair who greeted us.

"What's up guys?" Yusuke commented.

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara called out. "Why are you standing there like that?" It was rather odd.

He took a step forward but Yusuke called out for him to stop. "Stay where you are! I'm stuck. If you get close enough for him to step on your shadow, you'll be stuck too." He warned us.

"That's true, but I'm not the one you should be worried about. One of your friends is an imposter." Blondie announced. "Now let's begin the next game. One of your companions isn't who they appear to be." That kind of statement garnered shock from us all. "Your only objective in this game is to determine the imposter in ten minutes." He turned to us. "As for the five of you, you can only speak when Yusuke has asked you a direction question."

"I don't know this guy. How do we know he's telling the truth?" Kuwabara spectated and normally I'd agree, but after the stunt the last guy pulled, I think anything was possible.

Botan agreed with him though. "I find it hard to believe someone can disguise themselves completely in such a short amount of time."

"I said to not talk unless spoken too." Blondie quipped. "Don't you care about your buddy?"

"Hn, I can easily slit your throat before you even think about doing anything to the detective." Hiei threatened.

"Wow, I had no idea you cared so much." I said surprised.

"Don't be stupid." He remarked. Of course he did.

"You don't follow me do you? Whoever's being impersonated is being held in our prison. Mr. Urameshi isn't the only one at risk. And for those of you lacking in manners, that means if anything should happen to me the other person we capture will promptly be killed." The shadow controller explained to us. They were pulling all the strings on this mission.

"It seems your crew has thought of everything." Kurama called out.

"Let me guess if I don't' find the fake one in ten minutes, you'll kill the real one?" Yusuke asked for confirmation.

"Uh oh, nine left." His kidnapper said looking at his watch. "You're wasting time I suggest you get started."

"Don't rush me. Let's see what's the best way to weed out the fake? Kuwabara what's your blood type and when were you born?" Yusuke started off the questioning.

"Figures you'd have to suspect me first off." Kuwabara complained.

"Oh get over yourself and answer me!" Yusuke shouted.

"Okay Mr. Crabby pants do you even know my birthday and blood type?" Kuwabara shot back which I'd have to say they were terrible friends if he didn't know.

"Hah I guess I don't." Yusuke admitted easily. We were all doomed. "Okay, Kurama please tell me your mom's name and how old she is." He asked Kurama next.

"Her name is Shiori. She is 40 years old and she'll be married in the fall." He answered without hesitating for a second. There was no way Kurama was the fake.

"That's great! Tell her congratulations. Hey, am I invited?" Yusuke asked. If he was going, I hope I'd be getting an invitation as well.

"Only seven minutes." Yusuke was reminded of his time limit.

"Alright Botan, prove me who you are by telling me your boob size." Yusuke asked. I was in disbelief.

"Oh have you lost your mind completely?" Botan shrilled. "You and I both know I never told you anything of the sort!"

"You told me when we were on the school roof, remember?" Yusuke said trying to jog her memory. If she told him, I'd have lost all respect for her.

"YOU JUST MADE THAT UP! YOU DISGUSTING PERVERT!" She yelled violently at Yusuke. Nope she wasn't the fake either. Who else could impersonate that?

"Alright, Sakura. What's the nickname I gave you and is it true?" He asked me.

I glared at him. "Yusuke if you make me utter that stupid nickname, I'll be the one to kill you not shadow man!" I yelled at him.

"Hn, this stupidity is making me nauseous." Hiei chimed in.

"Fine we'll go to you. What's your little sister's name?" Yusuke asked Hiei. If Hiei was the fake, this was definitely one way to root him out.

"You know her well enough. I refuse to play this nonsense game." Hiei said defensively. Yep, he was the real deal.

"Hey that's weird. I didn't know you had a little sis Hiei. I bet she's a pint size pain in the you know what just like you. And ugly too!" Kuwabara said with a jeering laughter.

"I will kill you." Hiei seethed. I'm sure Kuwabara would be seeing things differently if he knew.

"I forgot Kuwabara doesn't know the relation." Botan uttered out. Kurama promptly shushed her.

"So everyone knows about her except me?" Kuwabara yelled out.

"Well basically…" Kurama confirmed and I nodded.

"Why didn't you punks clue me in earlier?" Kuwabara was sure making a big deal out of this for someone who thought Hiei was a pain the butt.

"It's complicated." Kurama said knowing he couldn't say anything on the matter either.

"Well what are you looking at me for?" Hiei directed at Kuwabara.

"Come on Kuwabara, drop it." I said.

"We don't have time to talk about this." Kurama reinforced.

"Oh, have a heart Kurama. Tell me what her name is?" Now Kuwabara just sounded like a whimpering puppy.

"I'll talk to you about her later!" Kurama raised his voice.

"Okay. You better mean it! Any day now Urameshi!" Kuwabara said returning to the priorities of the situation here.

"Get off me, I'm going as fast as I can!" Yusuke shouted. "Um guys what's the deal with the stupid looking name tags?" He asked us noticing the stickers we still had on us.

Botan proceeded to yell at Yusuke for not paying attention. Apparently he was supposed to know what they were called. "You know sometimes I think you're the imposter!" She concluded.

"Wait that's the one where the only one who can remove the seal is the one who put it on right?" He asked.

Botan nodded and it seemed a light bulb hit off somewhere in her head. "Because humans and demons have their own unique energy print!" she explained.

"I see. The imposter cannot remove the seals." Kurama explained further. We all circled around one another and decided to remove a sticker off of one person. "Ready?"

We grabbed the sticker and I was able to pull mine off successfully only to see that the others had no problems either.

"This is rather troubling." Kurama remarked holding up his sticker with his name on it.

"So there was never an imposter to begin with. He's been bluffing the whole time." Hiei said shooting a glare.

"That's just low!" I said stomping my foot. I was tired of this.

"Good guess. But I assure you there's a fake. Yanagisawa's power is copy. He has the ability to copy their voice, mannerisms, memories, and, yes, even their energy print. He could copy your own mother and you would never know." He explained of what I assumed was the guy who had guided us to the stairs in the first place.

I grabbed my head in frustration. We were never going to leave.

"From what my watch says your time has run out. I'm going to release you and I want you to approach who you think is the imposter and hit them as hard as you can." He explained.

"What?" Yusuke shouted back.

"Sorry champ that's the only way to disarm Yana's power. He has to be hit so hard he's knocked unconscious." The blond guy stepped off of Yusuke's shadow and sure enough he could move again. So at least he wasn't lying about that.

Yusuke looked at all of once more before he ran for it and at first you couldn't tell who he was running for until he veered off at last minute and punched Kuwabara sending him flying. In midair, Kuwabara transformed into the guy back from downstairs! To think he had that kind of power…that was amazing.

"Wow, you figured it out? How did you know?" He asked Yusuke. For someone who lost this game, he didn't seem too much of a sore loser.

"I chose him because he's used to me pounding his face in if nothing else." Yusuke explained. "Besides Hiei and Kurama are too smart and distrusting. They'd never walk right into your trap.

"Yes or scream the word hot." Kurama lightly teased Hiei and I chuckled only to earn a glare for myself.

"Kurama said it…" I grumbled quietly to myself.

"I'm pretty sure if you guys targeted Sakura, there would be those, some more than others, who wouldn't exactly let you slide on that kind of thing. And that only leaves Botan. If you dirtbags were low enough to take advantage of the only non-fighter, it wouldn't have mattered if I lost. I'd come back alive and drop kick your asses."

Botan seemed pretty happy and I just rolled my eyes at Yusuke's explanation for me.

"The games over. Now cough up Kuwabara." Yusuke demanded.

He seemed pretty compliant, but he had more to say before handing over Kuwabara. "But first off I'd like to introduce you the master of this plan." He said turning to have doors open and someone stepped out.

Never in a million years could I believe the person walking towards us was the one who wanted to kidnap Yusuke.

"Why would you do something like this? TELL ME YOU CRAZY OLD HAG!" Yusuke shouted it at Master Genkai.

To make things even more weird, shadow man decided to bow down and frantically apologize to Master Genkai.

"Cool it with the theatrics, Kido." So that's what his name was. "If we're being honest, I was counting on you screwing it up." She explained.

"You never cease to surprise me Genkai. I thought you might behind this little ruse." I turned to Kurama puzzled.

"This doesn't make any sense. Why don't you explain it fox boy because I'm obviously going nuts!" Yusuke exclaimed and I secretly agreed with him.

"She was trying to teach us a lesson." Kurama explained how only someone who knew us well enough could pull of something so elaborate.

"Yes and it's a lesson you need to learn very well. I guarantee this won't be the last time you'll run into individuals with the power of territory." Master Genkai said but it didn't seem to answer anything for me.

"You still haven't given us a reason. You haven't sufficiently explained what you're trying to accomplish besides rubbing their powers in our faces." Hiei jeered.

She lectured both Hiei and I for being so careless to get our souls taken away. I admit on my part it was bad, but I'm sure Hiei didn't like to be reminded of that little incident at all.

"Are you for real? You actually let those jerks steal your soul. Show some skill." Yusuke joined in on the teasing.

"And how about you dimiwit?" Master Genkai shot back.

"Oh give me a break. If I had known about the shadow thing, I wouldn't have gotten caught." He said as if it was no big deal.

"Are you foolish enough to think your enemy would just hand over that info?" She yelled and that threw Yusuke's reasoning out of the window.

"Time out grandma you keep saying enemy but these scrubs aren't really enemies right?" Yusuke asked.

Kido who was now quiet went on briefing us quickly on how him, Yana, and Kaito had come to Master Genkai seeing for help in their newfound powers which were just developed a month ago.

Master Genkai continued on where he left off. "The cause of which is our greatest threat. I assume some of you have noticed the demon insects in the city." I had seen one or two, but I hardly deemed them as a threat. "Someone is carving out a tunnel to the demon world. Sakyo's plan was not buried with him." That. That would be the threat.

"Yeah Genkai just filled me in. Apparently Koenma found out and never told us. Sakyo wanted money to dig some doomsday tunnel." I turned to see Kuwabara emerged from the doors and he was missing his school uniform which was no doubt being worn by Yana.

"Well we answered the more important question boxers or briefs." Yusuke still had time to add in a couple of jokes.

"How can this be?" Botan asked to make sure we stayed focused. "I thought Sakyo died when he blew up the stadium."

"Did he escape?" I asked.

"He's dead, we're sure of that. But someone continued his plans without him." Master Genkai said gravely and I couldn't help but feel a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

-x-

A/N: Well there you have it! The introduction to the Chapter Black saga. Hope you guys enjoy! Drop a review!


	15. Rain

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: Chapter Black continues! The plot thickens!

-x-

I listened intently to Master Genkai's explanation on the whole situation. The thought of a hole being created for an easy passage to demon world…I'd be lying if I didn't say it was tempting. There would be more people to test myself and it'd be much easier to find my mother.

However, there were dangers. No doubt about that.

"You're wrong old hag. If there was a hole out of this vile city, I'd take it." Hiei spat. It was true. Given the opportunity, he'd leave in a heartbeat.

"It'll be better to show you. The hole is at Mushiyori City." Genkai said.

"What? That's like a Sunday's drive from here!" Yusuke exclaimed.

I thought about it for a second and realized why the name had sounded familiar. I had visited there once with my father. It was very close to Ayanagi city and the fact that it was close to Yusuke's city as well, that worried me.

A noise emitting from Botan's briefcase shook me out of my thoughts and when she opened it up, it revealed a screen. Apparently it functioned as an item holder and a communication to Koenma as he was the one who appeared on the screen.

"You're slow on the uptake this time." Master Genkai responded. "It seems whoever is doing this is using the lull after the tournament to even catch you off guard. In the last month over thirty humans have come to me for help with developing super human powers. These two with me are prime examples. They're all different but one thing is the same. They all come from Mushiyori City." She announced.

"That means we've already reached to stage two." Koenma said with hesitance.

"Stage two? What? What does that mean? You've moved to training pants?" Yusuke still had time to throw in jokes.

Koenma wasn't going to tell us anything but after Yusuke brought up the point he couldn't do anything unless Koenma told the details, he spilled.

There were four stages apparently. The first where demon insects filled the city. I was fortunate not to see too much of that but the thought of actually going to Mushiyori and seeing the swarm, it wasn't fun.

The second was humans developing the powers like the Yana guy and Kido. Koenma explained the third where lower class demons would spawn. No brains, but violent. Brilliant combination.

"The fourth stage is where the hole reaches a two kilometer diameter allowing total passage." Koenma said gravely.

"Total passage? Total passage to what?" Botan asked.

"Yeah, who do I have to beat?" Yusuke asked.

"With a tunnel that huge, classes of up to C and B classes will be able to pass through." Koenma explained.

"Classes?" Yusuke asked.

Koenma explained that Spirit World kept a ranking on demons to determine their power. As a scale, he told us Toguro was only a B class. I looked over to see the shock on Yusuke's face. Of course it was insane to think about, but Yusuke fought the guy personally. Only B?

Koenma continued to explain to Yusuke how demons went on to classes of A and S and that Spirit World only regulated a small portion of demon world. Any more than that and they would risk destruction from the A class and S class. Just how strong were they? The thought alone was terrifying.

I along with Botan was a bit relieved to hear that a barrier was put up to stop A classes and S classes, but of course it couldn't stop the B classes and lower.

Kuwabara decided to make a small outburst about not being able to see Koenma. I forgot he had lost his energy. "Okay…now I'm worried." He said when no one responded to him. How do you explain to someone that their entire world was at complete and utter risk for destruction and bloodshed?

When we did explain to him, I feel like his outburst was even worse. "My life…it's just starting! There's still things I need to do! I want to marry a girl and grow my first mustache! Now you're telling me someone's making a big hole so a bunch of demons just like Toguro can start attacking us all at once? And there's the A and S classes that not even Spirit World can control? Is this the end of everything?" He screamed.

"Get over it." Master Genkai yelled.

I nodded. "Come on Kuwabara, it's not done yet. And please save us all grief and do not grow a mustache."

Kuwabara glared at me but then he listened when Genkai mentioned returning Kaito's soul back to him. We all headed downstairs and she returned his soul and he returned to be greeted by the entire crew.

Kaito was bitter though over being beaten by Kurama and Master Genkai explained that losing his soul over testing his powers was what resulted in the three into coming to her place at all.

The three then properly introduced themselves and their powers as well. Each had unique powers, that was for certain.

"Like I told you they all live in Mushiyori City." Master Genkai added. "It's been a full month since they've developed their powers among many others."

"That's just a few weeks after the Dark Tournament." Kurama stated.

"And that was just the beginning of stage two right? This means this whole thing started just days after my fight with Toguro." Yusuke figured out.

Botan's briefcase went off again and she opened it to Koenma with news of the growth rate of the tunnel. "As in, it'll reach stage four in three weeks." He announced.

"Three weeks?" Yusuke yelled. "There's got to be a way to plug it back up."

"The only way is to stop the tunnels creator." Koenma revealed. He went more about the details of the hole and the explanations of how a hole to demon world was made by a psychic.

"You guys know the city right?" Yusuke turned to the three other guys.

Master Genkai flipped Yusuke over at his lack of patience. She had to remind him why she had set up this sort of trial in the first place. It was so he wouldn't rush into things blindly.

Hiei finally spoke after all the squabbling. "Koenma, if these fools are done, I have a question of my own." He stated. "In what class do you rank me?" He asked.

"Hiei…" Kurama said with an almost reprimanding tone.

"What? It's a fair question. If his spirit world lackeys are going to place a letter on me, I have the right to know."

"Oh very well Hiei. As you know the Toguro's were ranked at an upper B. At the end of the tournament you are in middle B."

Hiei was not happy with that answer. "Underestimate me even now?" He retorted.

"For the record, when you fought Yusuke you were an upper D and in less than a year you've jumped almost two full classes." Koenma said to compensate. "You have much to be proud of."

"You're a child. Don't father me." Hiei turned around and headed for the exit.

"Hiei?" I called out.

"Come on!" Yusuke said not happy to see him leave.

"You already have your fox, your clown and your hag. I'm a moot point."

"You're just going to walk away?" Kuwabara yelled stealing the words out of my mouth.

"This is your world to look after, not mine." Hiei explained. "I don't intend to hinder your cause, but I don't plan to help it either.

"Coward! Real men help when they're needed." Kuwabara said not happy with Hiei's explanation on the matter.

"Save that idealism for your fairytales." He said finally and walked out.

"But Hiei…" I took a step forward and he already had left.

"Yeah he's the same all right." Yusuke said. "He'll come save us in the end."

"It's hard to predict what he'll do." Kurama softly reminded. "The destruction of human kind was once Hiei's goal. These new developments leave him much to consider."

"But is it alright for him to go off by himself? I mean shouldn't someone go after him?" I asked.

"No one else is leaving tonight." Genkai said. "That includes you Sakura. Hiei will be fine on his own."

"Yeah, this is your home Sakura, even if you are only half human." Kuwabara reminded me.

"I know that." I retorted. "I never said I wasn't going to help." I turned to Koenma's briefcase. "Koenma…what about me?" I asked before he could get off. "My ranking?"

"Aww didn't you hear Genkai, Sakura? No one's leaving so don't use that as an excuse." Kuwabara lamented that rank talk was still going on.

"I'm curious!" I shot back.

"Curiosity killed the cat." He snapped back.

"The only cat I know of is yours, so shut it so I can talk to Koenma!" Bringing Eikichi was a bit harsh, but he did sulk quietly in a corner.

"Yes, Sakura, upon first knowing about your demon powers you were considered an upper E class." I had expected a low ranking. "As of now you are a middle C class." He said and then waited for my response.

"I see." I said. "Thank you Koenma." I was expecting of course to be lower than Hiei, but I was hoping not an entire class lower.

"Hey cheer up Sakura. It's probably because you can heal that makes you a lower class." Yusuke said patting me on the back. He sucked at cheering up, but I suppose I could give him points for trying.

The conversation dwindled and we all headed to bed in the 'creepy mansion' as Kuwabara put it. As I drifted off into sleep, I only thought of how I hope Hiei was safe and that Yusuke was right about him coming back.

-x-

In the morning we set off to Mushiyori city to do some of our own investigating. Master Genkai went over our objectives once more. We had to locate the hole and more information about the enemy. Once she was done and we had arrived, we split up into two teams.

Master Genkai, Yana, and Kido went with Yusuke and I tagged along with Kurama's group. Yusuke was to find some more information and we set off to locate the hole.

I shuddered as we walked down the streets of Mushiyori to the coordinates we were given on the approximate location of the tunnel. The city was filled with demon insects and they were flying about or resting on the human beings that were blissfully unaware of what was going on in their once peaceful city.

I must have looked odd taking extra steps to the side every now and then to avoid the insects, when to them I was just going off of the unbeaten path.

Eventually Kurama did lead us to a halt and we looked around to see that we were barely on the outskirts of the town.

"This is dumb. It's just a field." Kuwabara remarked looking around.

I nodded. "Nothing looks out of the ordinary here." I said letting my eyes wander. Mostly grass surrounded us with a building every now and then that was most likely used for storage. There was no hole or psychic in the middle though. At least not in plain sight. Perhaps we were missing something.

"Unless he's invisible or looks like grass, the psychic isn't here." Kuwabara continued.

"No a distortion zone always takes the form of a circle around its creator. We are at the center. We just have to think. If he's not here on the surface," Kurama started.

"Then obviously he must be below us." Kaito finished.

Before we could get another word in, Kurama made a dash for it around one of the abandoned buildings.

"What's up? See anything?" Kuwabara asked and I looked up at Kurama.

"Question is, who saw us?" Kurama answered us with another question.

"We're being followed?" I asked. I hadn't sensed a thing.

"So they already know we're looking for them." Kaito observed.

"You sure you're not being jumpy? I didn't notice anything." Kuwabara said back to Kaito.

"Well what on earth does that prove? You've lost your spiritual awareness." Botan reminded Kuwabara much to his chagrin.

"In any case, we should play it safe and reconvene with Yusuke's group immediately." Kurama advised.

"Agreed." I nodded and we all did and decided to head in the general direction that Yusuke's group was headed to.

We headed back into town and this time it was Botan's reactions who were visible. "I'm sure it's gotten worse since we've came." She said of the demon insects still floating about. "I need one of those zapper porch lights!" She actually had a flyswatter on her.

"Do they have those kinds of things for these bugs?" I asked. "You know I could be a human one of those…" I said thinking I could radiate electricity, but I'm sure that would have sparked many questions to the humans nearby.

"What's worse? What are you talking about?" Kuwabara watched Botan's swatting action.

"The insects of demon world." Kurama explained bluntly.

"We just have to say my powers are gone, every hour!" Kuwabara frowned and strained his eyes to see the demon insects for himself.

"Botan's right. They've doubled from yesterday." Kaito explained making me wish I was here then instead of now. Or better yet, far away from the insect infested city.

"I'm probably teasing you because I'm jealous Kuwabara." Botan said. "Being blind sounds perfect right now."

"Not having your power sucks. But then again seeing swarms of these creepies might just be worse." I swatted an insect that came too close for my liking.

Kuwabara stopped and pulled Kurama closer to him. "Hey buddy, is that bad guy from before still following us?" He asked and it was a good question.

"No." Kurama said with a slight smile. "They stopped quickly."

"Why stop so suddenly?" Botan asked now that we all stopped walking.

"Perhaps they've chosen to focus all of their resources on Yusuke's group?" Kurama suggested.

"Strategically, you would never close an option unless you've made a decisive strike. If they've left us, Yusuke probably is under attack." Kaito added in. These guys were too smart.

"Relax, they're with Master Genkai." Botan said cheerfully.

"But Master Genkai's powers are all with Yusuke. She can only do so much now." I reminded her. Not to be a downer, but I did want to be realistic. Especially with man-kinds impending doom.

However, the police siren that drove by hastily only added to the ominous mood. Bad timing as Botan called it. We all decided to not waste any more time and tried to find Yusuke and his group.

It wasn't long after that we decided to hasten our search, that we saw an all too familiar blast pierce through the skies.

"Urameshi's spirit gun!" Kuwabara announced.

"Well Kaito, you were correct. Yusuke's team is definitely under a fight." Kurama said gravely. "What do you say we check ourselves into the hospital?" Kurama suggested after we realized the blast came from that direction.

I nodded. "Let's hurry." And we all ran over to where the hospital was until we made it to the entrance.

"Let's go!" Kuwabara said ready to charge into the hospital, but Kurama held him back.

"Wait. Just listen." He said looking at the hospital.

I decided to heed orders and tune in my senses toward hearing. Even with the ability to hear better as being a half-breed, I couldn't seem to pick up anything. Then I realized. That was the problem.

"It's too quiet." Kurama said confirming what I just realized.

"Quiet is perfect!" Kuwabara exclaimed not seeing the problem. "It's a hospital, not a racetrack!"

"We saw Yusuke's spirit gun blast through a window in the middle of the day. Yet there are no doctors, nurses or guards around." Kaito added.

"So what?" Kuwabara shouted even louder. He wasn't getting it.

"Kuwabara, calm down and think about it for a second." I glared at him so he would place Kaito down from his collar hanging.

"If people don't come to see, it's because they are not able." Kurama elaborated further. "We assume the worst for everyone in that hospital. They are either detained, hurt or dead. That is why we're not being followed. It's too dangerous for us to all head in, especially with Kuwabara's condition."

"Gee, condition makes me feel like I'm rabid." Kuwabara replied with dejection.

"Well at least we're near a hospital." Kurama and I nodded at each other.

"You three stay back and watch for developments. Sakura and I will go take a look around." We made a run for it towards the entrance door.

"I'm surprised you let me accompany you." I said to him. "Usually you'd make me stay back out of concern."

"Usually, but after last night's development, I'm sure you would have protested even more so than Kuwabara. Besides, having a healer ready will be most advantageous." He explained. "The front entrance wont' be safe, neither will the back."

"Right." I followed his eyes as he looked up and I took his hand as he used his other to summon his rose whip to pull us up to the hospital roof. We landed without an issue, but as soon as we placed our foot on some solid grounding, I felt a strange sensation.

"Kurama, it's a territory isn't it?" I asked.

He nodded. "We must proceed with caution." We entered the only entrance from the roof and descended the stairs. From there we split up in hopes of finding anyone from the other team still alive.

I ran down stairs and there were a swarm of insects waiting at the bottom. Of course they looked extremely different from the ones that were in the city. I wondered if this was a result of the territory we were in. I summoned a field of electricity that killed all the ones at the bottom floor.

The people were all out of it seemed and couldn't seem to see the insects. Once the floor was cleared I came through the main entrance and signaled Kuwabara and the others to come inside. "You find Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked and I shook my head as the others decided to start another search party.

I was going to follow until I heard the sounds of windows shattering and I bolted out the front entrance to see a man go flying. He landed on the ground with his body convulsing. I wonder if he had died. I got closer to inspect but before I was near enough, Master Genkai showed up and seemed to revive him. She was talking to someone. As I got closer, I saw that someone was Yusuke. Master Genkai jumped through the window opening.

I walked over there and looked at the body passed out. "I'm guessing he was the one who created this whole mess?" I said getting closer to the window to see everyone else seemed to meet up. Kurama apparently had found Shizuru and Keiko in his search through the hospital.

I jumped inside and as soon as I did we finally heard the police sirens. Master Genkai advised us to leave and we made a run for it so we wouldn't get caught up in any police questioning. After the events, we all called it for the day. Though, I'm sure there was still a lot to discuss about, a chance to rejuvenate would be so bad.

-x-

"Morning." I said as I leaned against the wall outside the Minamino house the next day after the events at the hospital.

Kurama stood there not facing me. "You're not going to school?" I asked noticing he wasn't in his school uniform.

"There are some things I must question Koenma about, so I will be heading to Spirit World. And what are you doing here so early Sakura?" Kurama asked.

"Was hoping to get some clues from you as to where Hiei's whereabouts are. After yesterday's events…I realize the people we're dealing with…well we're going to need more help. I heard Yusuke explain about the doctor he fought against." I said explaining where my idea came from.

To think someone would fight so viciously because he thought everyone, including himself, should die. This was getting into some murky waters.

"Hiei can be hard to locate if he does not wish to be found." Kurama spoke. "Let him be, Sakura. For now, I advise you to meet up with Yusuke. It's best not to be alone." He said and he walked away.

I watched him walk off until his figure was no more. I thought of Kurama as an older brother, and sometimes you have to go against the wishes of a sibling and take matter into your own hands. I'm sure he knew that we would need Hiei.

I wasn't as strong as him or Yusuke. We had one human psychic nearly paralyzed and another recovering. Kuwabara was lacking his powers. We needed more manpower. We needed Hiei.

But where to find him, I wasn't exactly sure. "Well he couldn't have gone too far." I walked the streets near Yusuke's school and apartment to see if I could sense him at all. There was no luck.

I decided to head to the forest where Yusuke first ran into Kurama and Hiei. Perhaps I'd find him there nestling in some tree of some sort. I decided to whistle. Perhaps he'd hear it.

I whistled and waited. He didn't come. I tried to whistle again, this time using more of my energy to increase the frequency and spread of the sound. I waited, and he still didn't come.

It got dark and there were storm clouds rolling in. I continued to search regardless. I went up the trees and hopped from branch to branch. Rain started to fall and I looked up at the sky. It was rather depressing. Rainfall yes, but there was no lightning to illuminate the night sky. I wouldn't mind searching as much if there was a bit of sparks here and there.

I pulled my hood over my head so I could continue my search a little longer. I was beginning to wonder if the others were mad at me for going off on my own. I wondered if Hiei was still in the city at all after all Botan did promise a lift. I wondered where Hiei stayed when it rained.

I jumped to another branch, but I didn't realize the rainfall had increased. When I landed on the branch, I forgot to miscalculate how slippery it would be. As soon as the soles of my shoes hit the wet branch, I instantly slipped and fell.

I was rather caught off guard so I hit several branches on the way down until I landed on a rather moist and muddy patch of grass. "Ow…" I said getting up slowly. "Maybe…I should stick to the ground."

"Or maybe you should stop being so persistent." I turned around to see a familiar figure standing beneath a tree that was right across from the one I had fallen off of.

"Hiei!" I couldn't help but be a little cheerful now that I found him…or rather, he found me.

"If I didn't answer to those obnoxious whistles, you'd think you'd take it as a sign to go home." He said not moving from his spot.

I walked over to him and found the rain fell less from where he stood. I looked up to see the branches were more decorated with leaves so it was a better shelter. I smiled at him. "Guess I'm stubborn." I took my hood off as to get a better look. "I've been looking for you." I said.

"I figured that. You're not under attack. What the hell do you want this time?" He asked. Straight to the point as ever.

"Hiei…I…we need you." I started. "Yusuke faced one of the enemies yesterday and it was tough. We're short on people and no one else seems to want to search for you. But the truth of the matter is…we need you." I said hoping not to come off too begging.

Hiei rolled his eyes. "I said before. Let them fend off their own planet. This is not my home. It is a mere confinement. I don't care about it to help in anyway."

"But you care about me don't you?" I bit my tongue once I realized I let that slip out.

"Don't confuse my duties of making sure you're alive at the end of the day." He said which I couldn't help but feel a little sting over. "Even those duties are on thin ice as of now with these new events unfolding. If demon world opens up, I'll be free of those duties and I can do whatever I see fit. Understood?" He said before walking past me.

I don't know why but that seemed to make my blood boil. I summoned my weapon and charged at him. "I'm not done, dammit!" I swung my weapon only to realize it hit nothing but the droplets of rain.

Within a few seconds Hiei was behind me. I turned around only to be met with the tip of his sword pointing at me. "Did you really think that was a good idea? I really should just kill you now and get rid of these duties altogether. You're becoming even more of a nuisance than Kuwabara these days."

I stood my ground. "Then why don't you kill me?" I asked him. Our eyes were locked in a stare down. Before I knew it, I had let out a sneeze that made me swing my head downwards so my neck ended up being grazed by his sword. I sneezed again, but this time his sword had moved.

"Do you see what your stupidity has done? Did you really think you could walk about in this weather without being unscathed? Know your limits as a human." Hiei placed his sword back. "Heal that wound up lest demon insects are attracted by the scent of your blood."

I stuck my tongue out at him but healed myself as I didn't want to deal with the insects. "You didn't kill me though." I said pointing that out.

He shot me a glare and turned around and started to walk away. I followed and he had no objections this time around. "What have you been doing since you left?" I asked.

"Minding my own business." He answered.

"Of course. Were you angry about what Koenma said about your ranking?" I asked and noticed he had walked over to what looked like some rocky areas but above were juts that offered even a better shelter than the large tree branches.

"It is what it is. Those spirit world fools can only go so far with labels." He said as he leaned against the cliff. I walked over to stand next to him and was relieved that I was no longer being pelted with water.

"Did you know…I'm considered a middle C class?" He didn't say anything. "I still have a long way to go. It'll be kind of hard if strong demons invade and try to kill me." I said with a light chuckle. "You really won't help?"

I looked at Hiei to see he had sat down and it looked as if he had fallen asleep. "If you're faking to avoid the question, that's not very nice." I said with a pout.

Either he really had fallen asleep or his answer was firm. I let out a sigh as I slid to a sitting position next to him. "If demon world really does open up and I die…well at least you're letting me remain at your side just for a little longer." I leaned my head on his shoulder and found that sleep was quickly settling in.

-x-

Something felt strange. I had felt it before, but I was so tired, I couldn't place my finger on it. I shot up with eyes open realizing a territory had spread. I looked around to see the rain had stopped and it was daylight.

"I was wondering when you'd get up. I'm guessing you felt that too?" I looked up to see it was Hiei and my face instantly felt hot. Was I sleeping on his shoulder the whole night? I only meant for it to be a little bit.

Once I composed myself, I nodded to his question. "Do you think it's one of the territories of the other side?"

Hiei shrugged as he got up. "I don't care. I do know…the detective has made his way to this area, however." I got up as well with eyes wide open. "Yusuke's here?" Hiei nodded at my question.

"He's being as brash as ever. Count to twenty and then head up to the top of the cliff. You can do that much can't you?" Hiei asked. I was going to ask what he meant but before I knew it, he 'teleported' off and I wanted to follow but he was too fast.

I frowned and did what I was told to do since I didn't know what else to do. I counted to twenty. I didn't even reach ten before a loud explosion went off. "What the-?" I looked to see a large smoke envelope the trees not too far from where I stood. I wonder if either Hiei or Yusuke was caught up in the explosion. The worry stopped me from counting and I immediately decided to ascend the cliff.

I was surprised and a bit horrified with what I was met with when I reached the top. There was a gravely injured body off to the side but that was not what concerned me.

"It's been too long since our last fight." I heard Hiei's voice and felt his energy levels spike. His cloak floated off from the energy rise and fell right over to where I stood. I caught it with my arms extended and noticed that Yusuke who seemed to already have some minor injuries was also powering up ready to fight Hiei.

I wanted to jump in and stop them, thinking they had both lost it. They were friends. I didn't want to see either of them hurt. I gripped tightly onto Hiei's cloak. Please…stop.

-x-

A/N: Whoo! Sorry guys! I had computer trouble and it took me a bit to retrieve this file! But it's here! Leave me a review and let me know what you guys think! Thanks for reading and tune in for the next chapter to see Sakura in the remainder of the Chapter Black Saga!


	16. Sacrifice

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: Part one of the final installment of chapter black!

-x-

"You ready?" Hiei asked charging at Yusuke.

"Bring it on, bitch!" Yusuke yelled and charged. I couldn't bring myself to look away no matter how much I wanted as both their punches connected with the other's face.

They knocked each other back but came at each other with what only seemed like more force. Their energy spread around them as they continuously landed blows. Some missed, some were blocked and others made bone-crunching sounds when they connected. With Hiei's speed he did land many solid hits on Yusuke. Yusuke would get back up however and promptly return the favor.

It made me sick to my stomach. I don't know what brought the sudden urge for Hiei to attack Yusuke relentlessly, but I wish he hadn't told me to meet him up here. "Please stop!" I shouted but it was lost among the sound of their fists pounding on one another.

It seemed they landed one last blow, but the other's forearm was used to block the punch. They were at a stalemate and it was their colliding energies that seemed to knock them back.

They stood there breathing heavy. "Please…no more…" I whispered to myself.

Hiei then held up his bandaged arm and Yusuke looked worried as if he was going to summon his dragon. Rather, Hiei licked at the blood that seeped from the wound that was no doubt caused by Yusuke's punch.

"Hiei!" I ran over to him and looked at the slight gash created from Yusuke's energy. "Amazing…" I whispered to myself over the fact that Yusuke's punches could do something like this. He was a force to be reckoned with.

"You rose to the challenge. It seems you haven't lost your spirit power, you just needed a good kick in the ass." Hiei spoke to Yusuke.

"You mean you stopped me to just see how strong I am?" Yusuke exclaimed in utter disbelief.

So that was your plan. I shook my head. He could've told me telepathically instead of letting me stand there all worried. He finished cleaning his wound and gave me a quick nod as if he knew what I wanted to do. He held out his arm and let me have my hand hover over the gash created by Yusuke's energy. I began to heal it as he continued to address Yusuke.

"You really are a simple child, aren't you? You still don't get it. Do you remember when you fought Toguro in the tournament and we let you think Kuwabara had been killed?" He looked towards the energy that was accumulating at Mushiyori City. "Back then you lacked the potential and Toguro went out of his way to bring it out. Sensui? He just wants you dead." He looked down at me and I nodded indicating I was done with the wound.

I handed him back his cloak and he put it back on. I couldn't help but smile and let out a small exasperated sigh. He was so complicated. "Harness your own power if you hope to beat him. If you take anything from our scrimmage, take that. So go, save the human world. Or don't. I don't really care. Either way I'm fine with the outcome. You can take Sakura with you while you're at it."

I turned to see Yusuke trying to hold in a laugh but failed. "You're so full of crap." He managed to spit out between laughs. "'I don't care'" He mocked Hiei to which caused me to giggle a little as well. "You've been rooting for me! You did all this to help me survive. I told everyone you'd come back to rescue us when we needed you the most, you big softy!" Yusuke pointed at Hiei with a stupid grin on his face. "Or should I say little softy?" He said laughing at his own joke.

I held my stomach unable to contain my laughter at Yusuke's joke. "I'm sorry, Hiei." I laughed alongside with Yusuke.

_I should've slit both your throats when I had the chance._ I heard Hiei's thoughts in my head and he had the look of someone who was now annoyed by mine and Yusuke's antics.

"Really. Thank you, Hiei. I was needing that kick in the ass." Yusuke said. "And thanks Sakura, for finding him in the first place." He turned to me as I decided to heal him a bit too.

I shook my head. "It was his decision on whether to give you the ass kicking in the first place." I smiled at the detective. He nodded at me and I watched as his eyes avert and I followed to see he was watching Hiei leave.

"Hiei?" I asked.

"Hey where do you think you're going?" Yusuke asked. "Now that your little secret's out…there's no reason…Look what I'm trying to say is, I could really use your help on this one. Kuwabara could use your help." He added in. I wonder what he meant by that.

"Told you they would need you." I reminded of what I had told Hiei earlier.

"But I hate Kuwabara." Hiei reminded the both of us. "You do them one favor and they think you're their best friend. This is why I could care less if their entire species was swallowed up." He said with his back turned towards us.

"Hiei!" I yelled out. It was always one step forward, two steps backwards with him.

"Well if you hate our kind so much, I know of a videotape that might interest you." Yusuke added in and Hiei stopped. I looked at Yusuke inquisitively.

"What tape would that be?" Hiei asked now turning his head around to face Yusuke.

"Oh just a little snuff film called Chapter Black." Yusuke said nonchalantly. "Now that I think of it, Kurama did say you tried to get your bandaged hands on it. It's out of print, but Sensui's got a copy of it. I could get it for you." He said scratching his nose as if this was nothing.

Clearly it was something as it looked like he had piqued Hiei's interest. What was chapter black? Who was Sensui. I felt during the time I decided to go search for Hiei, I missed out on several important things.

"The most forbidden contraband in spirit world? You think they'll let you walk out with it?" Hiei said. Not to mention he dropped the word 'forbidden' so that didn't make me worry at all. Nooo, of course not.

"Think about it for a sec. With all the rush from the apocalypse, that stupid tape will be the last thing spirit world intelligence will be thinking about." Yusuke explained on how he would get this forbidden tape to Hiei.

"Heh, you're quite clever when you put your mind to mischief." Hiei said with a smirk.

My eyes darted back and forth between the two. Sometimes I felt like they were more of a dangerous duo than Hiei and Kurama. I hung my head low exasperated by the exchange. "Friends of yours?" I heard Hiei question and I looked up to see two flying demons making their way over to where we stood.

They were extremely ugly from what I could see and while they seemed to have a very large build, their faces had the look of utter stupidity.

"I assumed they were yours." Yusuke replied.

The two demons landed on the cliff with a loud thud. Sure enough as I had speculated when they were off in the distance, they were huge, but still ugly.

"We've come to plunder your world!" the one with eyeball on its head shouted. "Show us your woman and human flesh depository!"

The other one with the nasty teeth chimed in as well. "As you can tell, we're hungry in more ways than one." Ugh, that was revolting. "We can start with that girl behind you."

I frowned. "I think…I'm going to be sick." I said towards the remark.

"Then this means Mushiyori city has advanced to stage three. I believe these demons are classified as weak and ugly." Hiei said calmly.

"Who are you calling ugly?" One shouted.

"This one doesn't even have a single beauty wart on his face." The other one pointed out. "Come with us little girl and we'll show you a good time.

I held up a certain finger at them. And stuck my tongue at them. "I don't associate with ugly idiots who are about to die."

"Hey Yusuke." Hiei said glancing over at Yusuke. "I think we've stumbled across a very good reason for me to help. If we don't defeat Sensui, we'll be overrun with these vermin who are a disgrace to the demon race. And I would not enjoy that." He said his last line gravely.

"Yeah me neither." Yusuke said in agreement.

"Well I'm going to enjoy eating you three!" The demon shouted and charged at the three of us.

Both Hiei and Yusuke reacted quickly out of aggravation from the demon's words and destroyed them both quickly. They both walked away as if nothing happened and I followed.

"As much as I can't stand the humans, I think I loathe the tourists even more." Hiei remarked.

The three of us decided to meet up with the rest of the group who were heading to a cave entrance. Yusuke filled me in on the details. Apparently during my absence, Kuwabara was attacked by one of their members.

The following morning, Kuwabara seemed to recover alright as well as the guy who he brought back with him. They had a small encounter with a man named Sensui who was the former spirit detective and the one behind all of this. He had distracted and separated the group somehow and managed to kidnap Kuwabara to use him in his grand scheme. It was quite a bit of information to take in from the short run to where we were and where we were headed, but I was glad to be caught up.

We made it to the entrance of the cave and I recognized the familiar faces of Master Genkai, Botan, Kurama and the human psychics. However, there was an addition among the groups that I hadn't met before.

We grouped and Kurama decided to have us all talk now that we were all united once more. "Before we proceed, let's go over on what we know about our enemy. We know that there were seven of them to begin with. Yusuke took out the doctor.

"And I did away with Sniper." Hiei added reminding me of the body I had seen off to the side when I had scaled the cliff.

"Yes, seven minus two leaves five." Kurama calculated.

"And Mitarai is with us now, so that just leaves four." Botan took into the account of the human psychic who recently switched sides. He was my age, in human years, that is.

"We know they'll head back to demon doors cave. That's where we'll intercept them and retrieve Kuwabara." Kurama concluded.

"Oh are we done sitting on our asses waiting patiently?" Yusuke asked.

"The tunnel opens in two days and your sarcasm won't close it any faster!" Master Genkai was as always the first to comment on Yusuke's attitude.

"But that's four days earlier than what our team in spirit world predicted." Botan chimed in. I remembered hearing it would take two weeks and now it had dwindled down to two days.

"When a psychic tampers with the sort of power Itsuki has, there is a tendency for it to be overpowered and lose control." Kurama tried to shed light on the time change.

"Now that you mention it he did say it's getting faster than he thought. Like the tunnel having a mind of its own." I suppose it was good that he was on our side if he had inside information.

"You can see how fast it's growing by looking at our fair city. Once fair city." Kaito said looking over the city he lived in. There were more insects and it was highly disturbing.

"If they can use Kuwabara's new found power to cut through the dimensions and release the demons we're done. Although I seriously doubt he would be willing to help." Kurama explained. It was hard to believe that Kuwabara had such a power when they explained it to me. I had to see it for myself, but not by the methods of him aiding the enemy.

"But they don't need to because they have gourmet." Mitarai added a cautionary.

"Right. Mitarai has said they will have this gourmet eat his power and then use them to break the kekkai barrier." Kurama delved further into the facts on this 'gourmet' guy.

"Once they're inside him their power becomes his. His territory is in his stomach." Mitarai continued.

I shuddered when the others asked about it and Mitarai explained he just ate them whole and he had witnessed it. "That's really disturbing." I said as I shuddered again but I wondered if it was just the information alone or the gust that passed on through.

"There goes that old familiar wind again. I think two days is overly optimistic." Hiei said calmly.

"I think that means it's time for me to kick a little ass." Yusuke said pounding his fist into the palm of his other hand.

"Down boy. Before you get all fist-happy I suggest we send out a small group to scout out the cave. Yusuke, Kurama, Hiei you'll be the first wave. That way just in case you'll get killed down there the world still has a chance of surviving this disaster. We'll be the second wave." Genkai said referring to us.

I wanted to go with Hiei, but I suppose being the back-up plan for the end of the world wasn't too shabby.

"Pardon me, Master Genkai, shouldn't I go down there with them?" Mitarai asked. "Inside that cave it's like a maze and I know it better than anyone else here." He advertised.

"And why the hell should we trust you?" Hiei shot back. It was nice to have someone like him from our side, but it's true we didn't know if he could be completely trusted.

Mitarai stood his ground though. "Because I'm much more indebted to mister Kuwabara than anybody."

"Urameshi you want me to run a polygraph on him with my copy technique?" Yana asked.

Yusuke shook his head and turned to Mitarai. "You're alright. Let's go." Well, I suppose if Yusuke trusted him, that would do for now.

"Yusuke recall the last time you raced into something without thinking?" Master Genkai asked him before he made a bolt for it.

"Oh you mean when these guys captured me." He asked pointing to Kaito and Yana.

"What lesson can you take from that experience and apply it to this?" Master Genkai still always managed to teach him in some way.

"Oh. Don't get caught yeah I'll keep that little pearl in mind when I'm kicking ass." Yusuke was confidant as ever. I shook my head and followed behind as we made our way to the entrance of this so called Demon's Door cave.

I watched the four go off into the cave and silently prayed they'd return back alright. I could only wait patiently outside and hope that the safety of the human world would soon be resolved.

An hour at most passed when I saw figures coming from the inside of the cave towards us. "Guys, company." I called out to the others who were sitting on the truck near the entrance bored.

Upon closer inspection, it was the boys we sent in. Apparently there was a door that was blocking their path based off of a game. They needed seven people in order to advance.

"I'll go!" I volunteered.

"Do you know anything about videogames?" Yusuke asked me.

"If that's asked just because I'm a girl, Yusuke, I swear! I'll have you know when I was five my father bought me my very own 'make your own friendship village' console." I stopped talking realizing the words I just uttered.

"What nonsense are you going on about now?" Hiei asked.

I shook my head in shame. "Nothing…nothing. Yana, go take my place. I'll just wait out here…in shame." I whispered the last part to myself.

"That's alright, Sakura!" Botan said cheerfully patting me on the back as the others headed back into the cave with their new members. "We'll use our girl power to stop whatever gets us out here. Who knows, maybe we can convince them to build us a friendship village?" She winked at me and chuckled.

"Botan…I will hurt you if you bring that up again." I muttered as I decided to sit down on the back of the truck. "Hiei doesn't even play games." I muttered.

Botan filled me in on the minute details Yusuke seemed to have forgot about during his explanation. I wasn't surprised. But when she was done, the two of sat around idly as we waited for everyone to return.

"That's odd." Botan remarked as she looked up at the night sky.

"What's up?" I asked.

"The demon cloud that has been hanging around the city has evaporated." Botan pointed out and I looked out to see Mushiyori's night sky was line with just stars and nothing ominous.

"Wow…I hadn't noticed. What do you think that means?" I asked.

Botan let out a laugh and jumped off the truck and grabbed me and spun me around. "They did it!" She said and finally letting me go with my head spinning. "Great job guys! That was the most painless apocalypse averted yet! You're welcome world!" She shouted out in joy.

"Hate to piss on your parade, but the end is still near." Both Botan and I turned around to see it was Koenma in his teenage form.

He explained how the hole was now at a stable state and we were in a period of the 'eye of the storm' kind of stage. I knew Botan's optimism would be short lived. He explained to Botan and I that we needed to head to Spirit World immediately if we felt an earthquake. Meanwhile he would head down to where Yusuke and the others were in hopes of stopping things before they spiraled further out of control.

"Koenma, I'm coming with you." I said as he headed towards the cave.

"That's out of the question, Sakura." Koenma started. "You stick around with Botan. Someone needs to make sure she's safe. Weaker demons are beginning to emerge." I thought of what Yusuke and Hiei had encountered earlier today and I sulked but agreed to stay to protect Botan.

We waited a little more and there were no demons that attacked us whatsoever. I should have just gone with Koenma. We weren't waiting too long when we saw silhouettes from the cave coming towards us. I then realized it was the others who joined up with Yusuke in the first place to make up seven.

They had an extra person though among them. A young boy.

"Master Genkai?" I asked wondering what had happened down there.

"This little boy is alive. He made a reckless move, but Koenma thought it'd be best to revive him." She spoke. "We ran into him on the way back here."

I shook my head. "You guys can protect Botan right?" I looked at Yano and Kaito. "I can't wait here any longer!" I ran towards the cave despite hearing Master Genkai speak harsh words at my stupidity for rushing in there alone, but I couldn't just wait around and keep waiting for Hiei and the others to come back.

It was to my fortune that I saw plants illuminated a path. No doubt done by Kurama. "Alright, let's go!" I said to myself as encouragement.

I don't know how many forks I took. I didn't even bother counting. All that mattered was following the lights.

I knew I got closer when I heard Koenma's voice. "Shinobu, listen to me." I heard the echoes from the cave wall. Finally I could see a bright light and in moments I was at my destination.

I was expecting to see everyone locked in battle, but that wasn't the case. Yusuke was on the ground and Koenma was talking to a tall man that had many scars across his chest. I could only assume he was the one who caused all this.

"Sakura?" Koenma noticed me. "I told you to stay behind!"

"Where are the others?" I asked, not seeing them anywhere. "And Yusuke, he needs to be healed!" I rushed over to Yusuke, but just as I was about to reach him, I felt myself falling and it was such a strange trip that reminded me of a story my father read to me about a girl falling down a hole and ending up somewhere bizarre.

Was I that girl? When I had stopped falling, I was indeed someplace odd. Old, crushed buildings floated around me and I was standing up right, but it was if as I was floating. "Sakura, do you realize you could have been killed right then and there?" I turned around to see familiar faces.

Hiei, Kurama, Kuwabara, and even the Mitarai kid were all here. "This is where you guys have been? Why aren't you helping Yusuke?" I yelled remembering the image of how badly injured he was and how I couldn't get to him in time and heal him.

"If it were an option," Kurama said turning and I followed seeing a man with turquoise hair and a calm demeanor about him. He then proceeded to explain the rest to me telepathically.

After Kurama told me we were stuck watching Yusuke from the sidelines through this Itsuki's pet's eyes, I was absolutely peeved that there was no way and we couldn't do anything.

_Have you tried cutting with your sword? _I asked Hiei telepathically while Koenma was trying to negotiate with Shinobu by using his pacifier as a threat.

_We are stuck here._ He answered bluntly.

_So you have tried._ I pointed out. I turned my attention to see that Yusuke had knocked out Koenma and planned to continue to fight Sensui. _Is this…all hopeless?_ I turned to Hiei again waiting for my answer.

I didn't get any answer from Hiei. I turned to watch through the eyes of the strange beast I was stuck in with the others. Yusuke, you have to get through this…at least until we find a way out of here.

My attention was met with Yusuke on the ground with Sensui walking up to him and giving him a handshake. I was utterly confused.

"His countenance has changed." Kurama remarked.

"In reality, Shinobu has never commited a crime." I turned around to see Itsuki looking rather proud of the sudden change. "He knows his other sides have done wrong, but he is able to separate himself from them and grieve over what they have done but realizing what is necessary. Such complexity, that's why I like him the most." He mused.

I heard Hiei let out an angered sound through gritted teeth, and I could understand why. Such admiration for someone who was treating our friend like that? Despicable. If Hiei hadn't warned me telepathically earlier that killing this Itsuki guy would keep us trapped forever, I would've lunged at him already.

"What? That doesn't make any sense!" Kuwabara complained. "If he's so darn pure, how'd he get away with hurting Urameshi? Not that it matters. Going by this new name can't make him any stronger right?"

For Yusuke's sake, I hope Kuwabara was right. Though with his creepy laugh and his energy welling up before Yusuke, that thought process quickly went away.

"That's not spirit energy." Kurama stated.

"Nor is it demon energy." Hiei added in.

"Wait if it's not spirit or demon energy, what is it solar?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yes Kuwabara, the sunlight has powered Sensui through hundreds of feet underground." I mocked even though in reality I had no idea what kind of energy it was.

The answer Sensui gave us, was sacred energy. Something transcending both kinds of energy. Impossible. I was proven wrong when he easily sent Yusuke flying into a wall. Yusuke struggled to get up and when he finally did he launched a barrage of punches on Sensui and from where I stood, they looked like they did nothing.

It was all so hard to keep up until Sensui grabbed Yusuke by his wrist and stopped him mid punch. It looked like he had lightly tapped him on his arm but I could tell the damage was great as Yusuke let out an agonizing scream from the pain.

I dropped to my knees. This couldn't be happening. He's the hero. He always pulls through. He…has to pull through.

Yusuke managed to escape and grab Koenma's pacifier with his feet preventing Sensui from retrieving the item. Koenma tried to step in from there but Yusuke wouldn't hear any of it.

"I know what I have to do." I heard him speak with such clarity despite the distance it seemed. "We're going to win. We'll defeat him in the end." That's right Yusuke!

"I'm close to a strategy for kicking ass." I slowly started to get up. Jerk, had me worried.

He turned to Sensui and made a 'come at me' motion with his hands taunting his opponent. A very 'Yusuke' move.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up." Hiei said and I couldn't tell if it was towards me had he read my thoughts or to Kuwabara's exclamation. "Yusuke doesn't have a plan. There's no way he can win."

"Hey, who's side are you on?" Kuwabara yelled at Hiei's negativity.

I was going to as well until I turned around to face Hiei looking…shaken. "Your senses aren't probably sophisticated enough to know this, but Sensui's energy is currently that of an S-class apparition."

"That's a lot right?" Kuwabara asked.

"That's as strong as they get." Kurama confirmed. "And I think Sensui has been restraining himself as much as he possibly can. He broke Yusuke's arm with limited power delicately. As if snapping a twig." I turned to Kurama who had sweat beads accumulating.

"Shame on you!" Kuwabara yelled. "Well I still have faith!" And I wanted to agree with him, but seeing Hiei and Kurama like this…

"Well that makes sense." Hiei's eyes were closed. "Faith is for the fools. We've all been made fools here. We assumed we'd triumph. That we'd be able to beat another arrogant enemy. We were arrogant this time. Sensui will kill us all. I hate being underestimated, but underestimating is worse. His power is rare, even in demon world. I never thought I'd see it like this." His fists were clenched and shaking. "And in a crude human no less."

"I get, he's strong." Kuwabara lamely replied.

I grabbed Hiei by his cloak and shook him. "You take those words back. He's strong, but Yusuke will come through. He always comes through. So even if he's a big idiot, we have to agree with Kuwabara and believe in him okay?" I felt my voice getting choked up. I knew I was on the verge of tears. Whether it was out of fear for Yusuke or for all of us dying by the hands of Sensui, I couldn't tell. "We just…have to…okay?" My grip loosened as I started to feel my knees buckling and the tears began to fall.

I let go completely when I felt intense shaking and looked around to see what was going on. This was caused from outside…from Sensui.

And to make matters worse, he had Koenma's pacifier. However, Koenma exclaimed it was right where he wanted it as he released the energy from his palm directly towards the pacifier. He called it his 'mafuken'.

Kurama explained how it was a rather powerful defensive spell strengthened by energy being poured through and with Koenma sucking on that thing for hundreds of years, it was not something Sensui could escape.

This was what Yusuke needed. The energy even radiated out and destroyed the demons that dwelled near the surface of the hole. Finally, hope.

And then adding to my tumultuous emotions, hope vanished as Sensui fought hard against the mafuken. And he won when he destroyed it and Koenma's attempt of preventing the fall of man-kind.

Koenma fell back and could only apologize to Yusuke. The look Yusuke had in his eyes, he didn't seem to care that Koenma's plans backfired. Like he knew all along. And then it hit me. _This is it…isn't it Hiei?_

_Well, at least you ran head first into it instead of running away._

"Heh…" I wasn't expecting that from Hiei. But given the circumstances, I didn't expect a lot of things.

"You're walking right into my trap." Yusuke told Sensui.

"I knew Urameshi had a plan!" Kuwabara said triumphantly. Kuwabara, I'm sorry. I tried to stay positive like you…but I just can't.

"You're wrong Kuwabara." Kurama said. I suppose someone had to tell him. "Do you remember what you did in the fight against Toguro? Yusuke intends to do the same." It was much more deafening hearing it explained compared to when I figured it out seeing the look in his eyes. "What you did when you fought against the Younger Toguro." Kurama reminded him.

"No…he can't do that. Urameshi, come on." Kuwabara was not letting it sink in.

"Yusuke back then possessed the spirit power, but he didn't know how to tap into it." Kurama explained.

"Well then maybe we should kill Kuwabara again." Hiei added in.

Kurama shook his head. "Yusuke's maxed out. We're the untapped ones."

I shook my head. I wanted to get stronger, but enough to help Yusuke out? Not in that short amount of time. What was he thinking?

"Wait Urameshi! If you really think I can get stronger, then I'll find it! Just give me the time I swear!" Kuwabara reached out but to no avail. It was disheartening.

"Make him stop…" I pleaded towards Hiei.

He gritted his teeth. "There's nothing we can do."

I turned to see Yusuke was just issuing more taunts at Sensui to make the final move. "We have to try…" I said with a firm resolve.

Hiei turned to Itsuki. "Lover boy, release us now and you can keep your ability to breathe." Hiei removed his cloak and I could feel his energy spike. "If we're going to die, then let us die in war against Sensui."

"But how? I mean we tried everything." Kuwabara questioned.

Kurama removed a rose from his locks and turned it into his rose whip. "Kuwabara, Hiei and myself will join Yusuke in a four one combat using every tactic we have. We've gone far past the stage of fighting for our honor."

I shook my head and summoned my spinning blades on my wrist. "I'm so damn tired of you guys leaving me out all the time. He's my friend too you know. I sure as hell won't stand back this time around." I shouted letting electricity unleash and crackle around me.

"Sounds reasonable enough." Hiei said glaring at Itsuki.

"Yes, we just need Itsuki to let us out. Perhaps torture would suffice." Kurama joined in on the threats.

"You'd all still fail." He said and then proceeded to explain how none of us had power to do anything.

"If you think we can't help, what was the purpose of trapping us?" Kurama questioned.

"You could perhaps with teamwork run away." Itsuki said and I suddenly felt like I was being ambushed again just like when I first entered the cave.

"No, we don't run away." Kuwabara stated.

"Perhaps you should ask your friends. Hiei, Kurama, the two of you aren't far off from reaching A-class." He then turned towards me. "The little healer is weak, but has much potential. It's easy to run to live to fight another day."

"You're clever, Itsuki, but you're wrong." Hiei said and I knew he was lying. I wasn't the only one as Itsuki called him out for it too.

"Mr. Kuwabara, I've been thinking about something." I turned around to see it was Mitarai. I had forgotten he was here. "Remember our fight when you and your friends were trapped in my water monster? That territory was a dimension you shouldn't have escaped, but you did with your new power. If you could do that again, then you can get us out now."

A new power? We all turned to watch Kuwabara try to summon it but he was launched back.

"Idiot." Hiei remarked.

"He still hasn't learned how to hone his new power." Kurama speculated.

"Come on Kuwabara!" I said trying to coax it out of him.

"Shut up Sakura! Come on, I know you're in there." He was talking to his hand as if it wasn't any different from my methods.

While Kuwabara desperately tried to gain his new power, Sensui and Yusuke began to trade hits, with Yusuke receiving most of the damage.

"I get this new power, right when we need it, but now I can't reach it!" Kuwabara was agonizing over this. "It can't be right!"

"Kuwabara…" I wanted to look away but a bright light shone and I looked to see Kuwabara was starting to harness his new sword.

We all watched, waiting, and it was wonderful to see the new sleek spirit sword begin to emerge.

"I've done all I can! Finish him Sensui!" Itsuki yelled. Our attention was focused on Kuwabara. We were wrong in doing so.

Kuwabara swiped at the beast and it let out a scream, but we were free. Yusuke, we were free.

At least that's what I wanted to shout. As we made it back to the dimension I was accustomed too, we fell towards the water, with rocks crumbling and creating splashes that blurred my vision ahead of me. But I knew what was ahead of me.

"Urameshi, get out of the way!" Kuwabara yelled.

And then, I felt my heart stop when Yusuke did move, but only to turn his head and give us that stupid ass smirk of his.

My feet hit the water, just as Sensui pierced Yusuke's heart. It happened so fast, but it felt like time had stopped almost taunting us that we could have made it.

Yusuke…

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A/N: Next chapter will be the end of Chapter Black. Yusuke's death always makes me cry! Leave me a review you guys and look forward to the next chapter!


	17. Rematch

**A Single Flower**

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A/N: The finale of Chapter Black! Thanks to all my lovely readers and reviewers so far! You guys are awesome!

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Kuwabara was the first to make it over there. "I'm not as gullible as you, you big lame-o." He said shoving Yusuke as if he was asleep.

I stood by Hiei and Kurama. "I just gotta cover your mouth and nose. You can't complain right? I mean dead people don't gotta breathe." He laughed thinking Yusuke would wake up any moment. "Look," He sounded desperate now. "Your plan to motivate us worked. I got us out so let's beat Sensui together now and go home." Nothing. "I'm not dumb. See you can't hide your heartbeat." Kuwabara placed his head on Yusuke's chest and it was then I saw the reality sink in for him.

_You can cry._

I heard Hiei's voice in my head. It wasn't taunting, teasing, sympathy or anything. It was flat, and devoid of any emotion. _What good will that do? It won't bring Yusuke back._ I answered back.

The three of us walked over to where Yusuke's body lay. Upon arriving I realized I had gripped Hiei's hand. He didn't push it away, but I guess he knew it was the only way to prevent myself from getting killed.

"Are any of you brave enough to lead the way? Attempt to finish what your brave friend could not?" Sensui asked us.

The anger that rushed over me upon hearing Sensui's words…I would have lunged at his throat, but instead I settled for tightly gripping Hiei's hand. I felt almost like I was being soothed when he gripped tightly back as well only to realize he too was seething. Kurama and Kuwabara's mood were no different.

The cave crumbled around us. _You go._ I told Hiei telepathically. _Take my revenge with you. I'll stay here. I'll protect Yusuke._

Both our grips released at the same time and the bandages flew off his arm and the dragon was revealed. Kurama's form changed to Youko. They both ran at Sensui at top speeds.

"Hey, wait for me you guys!" Kuwabara yelled. He then stopped and turned around. He looked at Yusuke.

"Go, Kuwabara." I told him. "Hiei and Kurama aren't the only ones who've gotten stronger." I said noting their energy spike into the next level. A-class. Kuwabara nodded and ran off to catch up with them.

It was true, they weren't the only ones who got stronger. Though, I was referring to me when I said it, I knew very well it also applied to Kuwabara.

I stood near Yusuke's body and I unleashed a barrier surge with a radius far greater than any I had produced. "I'll protect you Yusuke." I said as I controlled my energy so that it was violent enough to incinerate the rocks that dared tried to land anywhere near my precious friend.

"Here's a one way ticket straight to hell, you bastard!" I heard Hiei shout as he unleashed the dragon and all of them trailed after chasing Sensui into demon world.

I held up the barrage until the rocks stopped crumbling. I dispelled the static barrier and it was odd, I didn't feel tired at all like I had expected after such a release amount of energy.

"That's because you've risen to a B-class." I looked up to see Koenma and Mitarai.

"What good does that do?" I asked. "I couldn't protect him." I bit my lip as I refused to cry.

I watched as Koenma bent down and examined Yusuke's lack of a heartbeat. "I just don't get it." He said.

"He's too young to be dead!" Mitarai called out.

"No, what I mean is, his heart has stopped, but his ghost has yet to rise out of him." Koenma explained.

"So it's a little late. I don't think I could deal with talking to Yusuke's spirit. It's too soon." I said with my head shaking.

"It usually happens immediately. Last time Yusuke died, his ghost popped right out of him." Koenma explained to us.

"Wait if he's come back before, maybe he's not really dead." Mitarai said with hope. The kid really was on our side.

"No trust me kid. He's dead as a door nail. His soul is just MIA." Koenma's head tilted at a sudden sound and I looked towards the only entrance out of the cave, minus the hole at the ceiling.

A bright light flashed past us and stopped right in front of the gate to demon world. "Do you think that could be Mr. Urameshi's ghost?" Mitarai asked.

I shook my head. "Unless he can split into different entities." I said seeing the light do just that and a group of uniformed clad people stood before us. There were nine of them.

"They're called Spirit World's Defense Force. They're the best of the best and Spirit World's last defense line." Koenma explained. "My father only calls on them in the most desperate of situations, and I guess this hole qualifies. He depends on them to get the job done. Which means my father has given up faith on my ability to do so."

I was sorry to hear the parent problems of Koenma there. "So the dire situation is to get rid of the hole…But Hiei and them are still in demon world!"

The man with the blond hair and mustache commanded three of the soldiers to close up the hole and they got straight to work. He sent three others to the hole to kill any demons that went through. Even if Hiei, Kurama and Kuwabara returned from the other side…they'd have those goonies to deal with.

The mustached leader and the remaining two made their way over and his first question was concerning with Koenma's well-being. Sometimes I forgot he was the prince of another realm.

"Return to Spirit World to recuperate." He told, no, ordered Koenma.

"I'm not going anywhere. This is my mess, and I intend to clean it up." Koenma stated.

He explained to Koenma that by the orders of King Yama his orders override any of Koenma's and he'd have to leave to avoid something painful.

"Are you threatening me now, Captain?" Koenma asked.

"Hey, goldilocks, get out of the way." One of his flanks sent a shock at Mitarai and sent him flying.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked as I ran towards Mitarai to help him up.

"I'm alright Miss Sakura." He said to me as he got up and I decided to help him up. We both looked at the Captain.

"No one will stand in the way of our mission. To kill Yusuke Urameshi." His words sent a shock through us all. "Spirit detective, Yusuke Urameshi is a direct descendent of the mazoku."

A what-zoku? How do you kill someone who's already dead? Insensitive jerks!

"The atavism of the mazoku…" Koenma uttered.

"It's through that phenomenon that Yusuke Urameshi inherited his demon blood." The captain explained. "He's a genetic time bomb just waiting to trigger."

I looked at Mitarai and he nodded to signal he was okay as I got up and made my way over. "Now hold on a minute, Yusuke has demon blood?" I asked. "_I'm_ the half-breed here. I think I would know if Yusuke was like me! And so what if he is? You're just going to go and purge all half-breeds?" I was livid at this point.

"You are different situation, Sakura." Koenma explained to me. "In your case your mother was a demon and father was a human. You are born more like a demon with the ability to use spirit power alongside your demon energy. Your power is reached solely through your own." He turned to captain. "Whereas Yusuke's 'father' who provided the demon DNA to pass through generations is a demon and the 'mother' a human. That trait is passed on until a generation is strong enough to inherit it. The difference between yours and Yusuke's half-blood status is he has the ability to channel a full fledge demon at immeasurable strengths and could more than likely retain their aggressive behavior.

So it was like the power of two entities in one? The captain nodded at Koenma's explanation. "In truth, you shouldn't be allowed to exist either." He said looking at me. "But that is a different matter. When Yusuke Urameshi first died, he was too weak to activate it which is why he came back as a human when you brought him back to life Koenma." And now it seemed like he was pointing the finger on Koenma. "Through his training we've been helping the mazoku gene activate and there's nothing that can stop it except for us."

He continued to explain how during the dark tournament there were already traces of his demon energy. "We would have defeated one rogue spirit detective only to give rise another. Thank goodness we arrived on time. Forty four years ago before the rise of the kekkai barrier a demon planted the seed of the mazoku that's ready to bloom within him! Which is why we must destroy his corpse!" He looked at Yusuke's presumably dead body as he said this.

"You'll have to do it over my dead body!" Mitarai said behind us. "You should all be ashamed of yourself for thinking he's a monster or anything else that his other than a hero!" I smiled at the kid. Yeah, he was definitely alright. "Who do you think he's been fighting for? Who he died for? It doesn't matter what's in your blood, but inside your heart!" Mitarai's speech was cut-short by one of the soldiers who proceeded to send energy shocks through him.

"Damn it what the hell is wrong with you?" I shouted at them.

"Like we're going to trust him for a judge on character." The soldier said. "We haven't forgot the last spirit detective he's gotten involved with and as far as things are concerned he's still an enemy of this mission." He dragged Mitarai's body to the side.

"Yeah, well I sure as hell won't let you lay a hand on my friend's body. For people of Spirit World, you sure as hell have no respect for the deceased." I stood in front of Yusuke defensively. In all honesty, I wouldn't have a chance, but he was my friend.

Koenma placed a hand in front of me to remind myself to calm down. He then proceeded to defend Mitarai and tell the Captain to get himself in order. You tell him Koenma!

"As for Yusuke, if what you say is true, then it is my responsibility. I refuse to let him suffer. We will find another solution captain-" But before Koenma said another word, the Captain shocked him as well and dragged him off.

"Still not going to move little girl?" the remaining soldier asked?

"Go ahead and make me." I glared refusing to leave Yusuke's side.

He sent a shock at me but I pulled up another barrier to absorb some of the shock. It was a mistake to think they could use the same electric-based methods as they had on Mitarai and Koenma.

The man looked shocked but after I realized the faint glow coming from behind me, it wasn't because of my ability to absorb his attack.

"Captain, look at Urameshi! He's glowing." I turned around the guy was right. Yusuke was floating and enveloped in a red light.

"Damn, it's time! That's not spirit energy he's emitting, that's demon energy! Forget her." The captain ordered. "We were ordered to get rid of the half-breed. I see no problem if she wishes to die with Yusuke Urameshi as well. The resurrection has begun!" The two soldiers then stood ready gathering their energy.

"Fire!" The captain shouted.

I braced myself ready for the attacks. "Don't worry…Yusuke." I said not sounding so sure of myself. Before they fired, they stopped as a loud screech could be heard. The cave started to shake and I looked up at the opening Sensui created to see a rather large bird descended.

"Stop pissing your pants and fire!" The captain ordered again. This time they listened and I braced myself wishing I had gotten to say good bye. I stood there with eyes closed, ready to be in pain, but the pain never came. In fact, I couldn't even hear firing anymore.

"Man you guys sure know how to make a guy feel welcome." That voice. I opened my eyes to see a mess of blue block my view. I looked to my side and it was Yusuke who had spoken.

The blue shield that blocked my view were wings and they unwrapped themselves around me and Yusuke. It screeched a very familiar sound. "Hey there little buddy, I see you've been drinking your milk while I was away." He said as it leaned it's neck down allowing him to pet it.

"Oh man…don't tell me that's Puu?" I said in disbelief but kind of thankful for the growth spurt otherwise I would have been dead.

"You know even though I was dead, I could still here what some of you guys were saying." Yusuke remarked. "So then, I'm some kind of evil, vicious monster?" He asked with a certain look about him that I couldn't pinpoint.

I think he was trying to look frightening…but there was something off about it. Even paired up with the next words of his, it seemed all a little…off. "My teacher's been saying that for years, I just thought it was a figure of speech." He unleashed his energy as a display of his new power. Demon energy alright.

The spirit soldiers were now frightened and offered to be Yusuke's servant. "Thanks weakling, but for what I desire, I don't need any help. For what I desire is ending the world with everyone in it. For I am the mighty mazoku. And now after hibernating for over a thousand years I will now reveal my true form." Yusuke began to laugh maniacally, or at least I think his attempt to do so. After all we've been through, this couldn't be what Yusuke was like, half-breed or not. "Psychhhhhh!" He yelled out when the soldiers ran away. "Damn you guys are gullible!" He yelled out and laughed acting much more like I expected him to.

"Yusuke, is this really the time for jokes!" I yelled at him.

"Aw, you could have played along Sakura." He said and then turned to Koenma. "Hey, Koenma, you didn't really think I turned evil did you?" He asked. Koenma was at a loss for words.

"Anyway, I better shove off to demon world. Sensui gave me death as a gift and I better return the favor. Sakura, you're coming along right? I'm sure some three-eyes could use some healing. Hell I bet they all could." He said referring to Kurama and Kuwabara as well.

I nodded happily. I felt even more energy well-up. It was one thing for us to get stronger with Yusuke's death, but seeing him alive again, seemed to just bring out more energy for me to use. This amazing new strength, I'd do all I can to help. "Hell yeah, I'm coming with!" I cheered and Puu nuzzled me on the check as I smiled at the spirit beast.

"You can't go anywhere you'll have to be quarantined!" The captain yelled at Yusuke.

"You try to stop me and I'll bite off your head, mustache and all." Yusuke threatened back. I laughed. The captain didn't get it but I'm pretty sure Yusuke's attitude was always like this demon or not. "Look jerk, give me a break it's a running joke." He explained.

He looked back and me and gave me a nod so I climbed on Puu's back ready to make the trip as soon as Yusuke was. "I'm the same." Yusuke said. "Yusuke Urameshi, fearless protector of the good-stuff with a healthy kicking assness with a general hate for authority! And nothing as trivial as a violent death and a few drops of demon blood mixed in with mine is going to stop me from helping my friends and saving the world. And kicking the bad guy's ass." He announced.

"Great speech half-breed!" I yelled out. "Now come on! I'm itching to see what demon world is like!"

Yusuke gave me a thumbs up. "You got it half-breed." He called back.

Koenma let out a sigh and started to laugh at the two of us and our suddenly care-free attitudes despite the situation. "Hold on, I'm coming with you two." The captain tried to stop Koenma but Yusuke promptly shoved his foot into his face.

"Pass this to King Yama for me!" He shouted and the two of them hopped onto Puu's back with Yusuke in the front. "Mitarai, we'll come back for you soon." Yusuke said and looked straight forward towards the hole. "Let's go to demon world Puu!" Puu started to flap it's wings and we were off and flying through the entrance.

"Yusuke, Sakura, you know there's a good chance we won't be able to come back right?" Koenma reminded us.

"Yeah, shut up, I can't worry about that now. Remind me after we beat Sensui." He said.

"You're as irrational as ever." Koenma laughed.

"Hah, like I'm going to give that up. It's the only thing that makes this job any fun!" Yusuke retorted. "Come on Puu, faster!" He shouted.

Puu picked up speed much to my delight. "Whoo hoo!" I shouted.

"On second thought having you two half-breeds around may just shorten my life." Koenma joked and I laughed too.

Just hang in there guys. Yusuke's alive!

We passed the broken barrier, thanks to Kuwabara no doubt, and in mere moments the sight of demon world came to view. It was as I had expected about it being vast. However, the scenery was kind of…hauntingly beautiful as there were trees and cliffs all around. Like an untouched forest. Lightning struck all around the skies, and it was definitely comforting to me.

Puu was gliding in mid-air around a certain cliff and from that view, I could see Sensui adorned in some strange armor and in front of him were Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara.

"I'm sorry I got delayed." Yusuke apologized. "Traffic was a bitch. But I'm back and I'm ready to finish this!" Yusuke shouted.

Puu landed and we all got off. The look on all their faces made me wish I had a camera. Yusuke approached them all to prove it was real. He was alive.

"Some friends you are, ditching a guy while he's down and hogging the bad guy all to yourselves. I gotta admit I'm disappointed in you jerks. But you honestly think I would just lie there and let you fight my battles for me? Give me a break!" He lectured them all and it was quite a sight to see.

Kuwabara started to freak out and exclaiming things about Yusuke's heart not beating meaning he had to be dead.

"Yeah my ticker's still not ticking. I guess I should be worried huh?" Yusuke asked.

I smiled at Yusuke unaware of his new body. Kurama had explained once to me that demons had no heartbeat when I asked him, maybe more like frantically asked him, why I felt my heartbeats were getting slower and further apart from each beat. It was because my demon energy was beginning to develop through the many times I spent with all of them.

It was amusing to me, but it earned a very surprising, genuine and hearty laugh from Kurama AND Hiei. Now, I really wish I had a camera.

"You'll get used to it. See demon hearts don't beat in the conventional ways of a human." Kurama explained and he was still in his Youko form.

Kuwabara was surprised by the words of demon directed to Yusuke. Koenma had to explain to Kuwabara it wasn't a dream.

"Funny story…one of my ancestors way back was this mazooku guy so when I died, I was able to come back, but like him." He concluded.

"Mazoku, Yusuke." I corrected him and I smiled and waved at Hiei and Kurama. "Now you have two favorite half-breeds." I said with a grin.

"I had no idea you were one of us Yusuke." Hiei remarked. "How's it feel to be so superior?"

"I don't feel any different." Yusuke said truthfully. "But I do have a sudden urge to fight. How about it Sensui?" He asked.

"Back off Yusuke." Hiei said standing up and I could feel his power increasing. It was the same effect Yusuke had on me when I saw he was alive. "We're in the middle of something and I've suddenly felt my second wind."

Kurama's power also spiked. "No Hiei, I will take him."

"You guys have had your chance!" I said tapping into my new energy Yusuke had helped me reached earlier.

"What is this, a prom date dispute? I mean I'm sure Sensui's flattered by all the popularity and all but this is my damn fight!" Yusuke told us. "I hate to say it Kuwabara, but you're the only one acting sane."

Kuwabara had to disagree as I could feel his power well up too. "I'm ready! And better than ever! Stand back because I can kick his butt myself!"

"You do realize, he'll be kicking back?" Hiei jested.

"Yeah and after him, you're next!" Kuwabara shouted.

"There won't be a next." Hiei said bluntly, and Yusuke and I laughed at the two's usual sparked words towards one another.

"I've sense how strong you've all become. And I appreciate your help, but I need to finish this alone. You dig?" He asked turning around and looking like more of a hero than I ever saw from him.

I nodded at my favorite half breed. "Understood. Go get him Yusuke. I'll be here ready to heal you the moment you need it." I said proudly with a thumbs up to him.

Kurama nodded and Kuwabara smiled. Hiei formed his pointer finger like a gun at Yusuke. "Knock him dead, Yusuke Urameshi. But if you fail, know I got your back." And it was a pleasant surprise to hear that from Hiei. There was no way he could persuade me otherwise that he in fact considered Yusuke as a friend.

Yusuke gave us one last nod as he made his way towards Sensui. In moments, their two energies collided and they were destroying the cliffs as if it was a mere play thing. What was truly amazing was when Yusuke proceeded to send off a spirit gun that was full of power and speedy as hell. The only problem was that he had missed.

"He must learn to adjust to his new power." Kurama stated.

"Yes hardly a marksmen's performance. But don't forget, if we've learned one thing from fighting with Yusuke, it's that he adapts quickly to new circumstances to squeeze out a win." Hiei commented.

I chuckled and looked at Hiei. "I've never heard you speak so highly of someone before." I looked at Yusuke. "But he truly is something."

"Stop stating the obvious and why don't you make use of your newfound strength as well. Unless you plan to save it all for the detective." Hiei said with a smirk towards me. I blushed a little as it was kind of nice for a change for him to see that I had grown stronger without me pointing it out.

I quickly recovered and nodded. "Yeah, I'll get right to that!" I said as I helped healed the three of them with ease. I couldn't wait to test this new strength in actual combat sometime.

I heard Koenma talk about Sensui switching his armor to offense as he was serious about his fight with Yusuke. "Puu, take these guys to safe distance. I have a feeling this fight is going to get rough."

Koenma got on Puu's back and while Kurama grew some kind of plant like wings and floated off. Puu's claw grabbed Kuwabara by the stomach. Hiei jumped up and grabbed the other of Puu's leg and extended his other arm out as I jumped up to catch it. He then hoisted me up since there was no more room that I was hanging onto his waist.

You're here to watch Yusuke's fight, Sakura. Watch. Yusuke's. Fight. I had to remind myself that despite the close distance between me and Hiei.

I forced myself to look back at Yusuke's fight only to see a large part of the cliff was knocked away due to the blows of the fighters.

Eventually we all hoisted onto Puu's back only to be engulfed by a large light. "Which one of them did that?" Koenma asked.

"I think both!" Kuwabara shouted.

They're fighting kept moving from spot to spot so we were lucky Puu was there to move us to where the fight was. During their blows, they managed to knock the demons who were towering their way towards the entrance to human world. This resulted in them falling towards Yusuke and Sensui.

The two viewed the demons as a hindrance and Sensui quickly killed off a large amount of their numbers.

More blows ensued and we could see nothing but explosions. When the dust finally cleared, I saw the cliff was now only made up of two pillars with one standing on each.

They were quiet for a second and then next they were on the move to some other arena like area for them to destroy. "Puu follow them!" Koenma said and Puu did as told.

"I still can't believe that this giant bird is our cute little Puu." Kuwabara stated.

"Well he's a reflection of Yusuke's self." Koenma explained. "As Yusuke was reborn, so was Puu."

"Urameshi didn't get all jumbo sized." Kuwabara retorted.

"Not on the outside. But on the inside…" Koenma didn't need to finish his sentence for us to get it.

We made our way over and before we arrived they were already landing hits and destroying mountains. An intense wind picked up preventing Puu from flying any closer. "What are the odds that a tornado pops up right now?" Kuwabara asked.

"Quite good, considering the two of them caused it." Hiei explained.

"That's amazing!" I said letting go my gripping and having the wind send me flying off Puu.

"You're alright." I heard Kurama speak as he had glided over and caught me before I was sent much further back.

I nodded. "Thanks. Guess I got a little over-excited." He smiled at me and while he looked like Youko, he was still very much Kurama from what I could tell.

He glided over and placed me back on Puu's back. "Don't go doing something stupid like that again." Hiei chastised me.

I chuckled nervously. "Heh, sorry."

_By the way, _I asked telepathically while watching the fight. _Healing helped any?_

_The wounds are taken care of, though my energy is depleted. I have only enough energy to watch the detective's fight._ He answered.

_He really means something to you huh? The way you acted back at the cave…it was surprising and a little heart-breaking seeing you like that to say the least. I'm glad he's back though and that I was able to come here with him. I'm glad to see that you were all still alive._

_Hn. _He responded and I expected that to be just it. _You really have gotten a bit stronger. You managed to survive and make it here anyway._ In his own weird way…I couldn't help but think he was a bit worried too.

I smiled and gave my full attention to Yusuke's fight against Sensui. The two reached a standoff and Yusuke couldn't help but laugh at how much he was enjoying the fight.

"The weight has been lifted. As if he was waiting for this fight all along." Kurama mentioned at the change in demeanor in Sensui.

"The joy of fighting a worthy foe. It's what I felt when I fought against Yusuke." Hiei said with a smirk on his face.

Yusuke was ready to go another round, but he stopped. I was confused and then out of nowhere a burst of energy shot out from him and he let out a loud scream as if he was in pain. When the smoke cleared, Yusuke stood there…at least I thought it was Yusuke.

He looked different with his body in markings and his hair had grown considerably and greyed as well, but that wasn't what was different. Like Sensui, he seemed to have a personality change as well.

"I don't know what triggered this, but it looks like Yusuke's body has finally accepted the transformation the mazoku has desired." Kurama speculated.

The fight continued, only Yusuke was much more cruel in battle. Sensui didn't stand a chance as Yusuke mercilessly kicked him around landing heavy blows in quick succession with his new speed. Even the rest of the guys agreed that the once unstoppable Sensui was going to lose.

Finally, the fight stopped and I saw Yusuke hold Sensui by the neck before tossing him upward and out into the distance. He remained rooted but held up his trademark pose as began to fire up a spirit gun that would be immensely stronger than any we had ever seen before.

He fired his spirit gun and we all watched as it made its way towards Sensui. My attention changed when I heard Yusuke shout out something strange. "Out of the way dumbass!" Didn't he intend to hit Sensui with the blast?

Sensui didn't move and the blast him straight on sending him flying out of their proposed fighting spot and deep into some demon forest. Yusuke made a run for it to where Sensui's body was. Koenma told Puu to take us down there and figure out what was going on.

We followed the path created by Yusuke's blast up to where it stopped and sure enough both Sensui and Yusuke were there. Puu landed and we all got off.

"You can't be dead! Not this way!" Yusuke shouted.

"What are you talking about?" Kuwabara shouted. "Has your brain gone as fuzzy as your head? We wanted him dead from the start and so did you!" he reminded Yusuke.

"Whoever killed him, it wasn't me." Yusuke fought back.

"But we all saw you do it." Kuwabara explained.

I don't know what Yusuke meant, but this must have been why I felt he had an entire personality shift that was much more believable than what he tried to pull back at the cave.

"It looked like me because it was my body, but it wasn't me." He mumbled other things that only confused Kuwabara. Sensui however did cough showing signs of life. "He's not dead, he's alive! Kurama can't you use some plant to help him out?" Yusuke asked. "Or, Sakura you can heal him right?"

"Unfortunately I used up most of my energy from fighting from before. The most I could do is give him something to ease his final pain."

I shook my head. "I can try, but he looks pretty battered up. I'm not sure how much I could help…"

"What good are your powers if you can't use them when you need them?" Yusuke shot back at the two of us.

"Yusuke, that's uncalled for!" I lectured him.

"Fine, just give him what you've got." Yusuke said and Kurama and I agreed.

"That won't be necessary." We all turned to see Itsuki emerge from a portal and appear before us. "Please just let Shinobu go." He said walking towards us.

"If I'm going to kill a human, even an evil one it's gotta be at least me pulling the trigger." Yusuke said with vigor. "I'll never know it was me who made that choice!"

"Don't torture yourself. Shinobu only had a month to live." Itsuki explained which shocked us all.

He explained Sensui had a rare terminal disease and he would have died a long time ago if he wasn't so strong. Sensui managed to get some words out confirming Itsuki's story. He confirmed it was in fact Yusuke who killed him and that was that.

"Dammit you're not listening to me! It wasn't me!" He grabbed Sensui by his collar and shook him violently. "I'll give you time to heal up. You take some painkillers now and we'll do it all over!"

"Only Yusuke would still want to fight a man after he's dead." I turned to see Hiei's head droop a little. "Wake me when it's over." He said falling over and succumbing to his drained energy. Puu picked him and placed him on his back.

"Thank you Puu." I said and smiled at the spirit beast before turning back to the situation at hand.

Yusuke asked Koenma to do something but all of his powers were drained from his pacifier to be able to bring him back. Not to mention he had revived the little boy who was part of Sensui's team.

Sensui was content and gave us his back story and why he did all that he did that led us up to this very moment. He mentioned how he thought demons were bad, and humans were good. A reverse thought I held once I found out my true nature. In a sense, I could see why Sensui wished to go to demon world to visit a place and understand those who he once hated.

He thanked Yusuke for being who he was. A demon who was humanized but at the same time a human who was demonized. Yusuke was truly remarkable and I had to agree with Sensui when he said great changes would occur through Yusuke.

With those last words, he died. Koenma agreed to take him back but Itsuki saw to it that we didn't get anywhere near Sensui. In the most creepiest gesture, Itsuki took Sensui's body away where his soul wouldn't be tarnished by Spirit World's way. He wanted to spend eternity together with Sensui and took him off into some dimension where we couldn't touch him.

"Dammit…if I kicked his ass, why do I feel like he still won?" Yusuke said.

"He got what he intended all along." Kurama stated.

"Question Urameshi." Kuwabara chimed in. "Do you feel weird at all?" He asked.

"Now that you mention it, something on my back has been making it itch quite a bit." He said as he grabbed his hair and that action made me shake my head in disbelief. _He _was the one who just saved the human world.

He pulled at his hair and finally realized the sudden growth of his locks. "I must look like I've been playing around with an electric socket!" Yusuke yelled.

"That's just your physical resemblance to your ancestor, Yusuke." Koenma explained. "Which I suspect he must still be in this world."

Yusuke's demon ancestor still alive…wow. And then it made me think like Yusuke. He talked about how he blacked out before the blast was fired and then he suddenly saw it but he hadn't pulled the trigger. He was angry that his ancestor had interfered and he wanted revenge.

Yes…revenge against someone in the family. Very familiar to what I was feeling. My mother…she was somewhere in this world too.

"Let's go!" Yusuke announced. "If my ancestor is here and still alive, we have to find him!" I would gladly join Yusuke on that search.

Kuwabara didn't want any part of it as he was tired. The others were surprised too.

"You know Yusuke, you may want to give this decision more thought." Koenma stated. He reminded him that the SDF was still back in the human world sealing up the hole which would prevent our return. I forgot about that. He said Yusuke had to choose.

I decided that I would go with whatever decision Yusuke would make. I prayed he would make the right one.

"I'll give you a couple moments to make the decision Yusuke." Koenma told him.

"Hah, I don't need it. I've already made my mind." Yusuke said immediately. "Load up Puu, let's go back home." He said.

I smiled. Good decision Yusuke. I hopped up on Puu with the others and looked back at what I had seen of demon world. My mother would have to wait. I had friends to go home with now. Home…

We got on Puu and headed back to the entrance to human world. The looks on the SDF were displeased but we ignored them as we made it to the cave entrance where everybody was waiting. Immediately after seeing everyone, Keiko was the first to run to us and shouted out Yusuke's names and embraced him fondly.

Everyone ran toward us and Botan remarked Yusuke was reminding her of someone named Rando. Yana envied the long hair and Kaito was more interested in the markings on his body. "Man is this a conference? Give me a break." Yusuke turned around and so did me and Kurama who was now back to his human form. "Hold those thoughts guys I gotta take care of something."

Turns out the SDF had followed us out here. "It appears not everyone feels this case has been resolved." Kurama remarked.

The captain of the SDF chastised Koenma and classified his acts as treason. "You stupid tools!" Yusuke shouted. "Think you can hide behind your uniforms and push decent people around? Look, I don't start fights with the defenseless, but you're starting to piss me off and that's a whole different thing!" He held his ground. "Since you're all new here, I'll give you a tip. Threatening the guy who helped save us will definitely piss me off." He warned them. "Koenma did what he could to help and if getting rid of you is what it takes to protect him, I'll kill you all one by one." His words were strong and held truth. The captain of the SDF used the excuse of the tunnel to run back into the cave and promised that it wasn't over.

As we watched them leave, streaks of light appeared and we all turned around. "I miss that sun." Yusuke said as it started to rise easing the tension. We all agreed and decided to head back far away from this place.

-x-

I watched Hiei eye the tape that Yusuke had promised him. The day was almost over so school was out. Kurama and I made our way over to the tree where he sat and decided to take a seat for ourselves next to him.

It had been a few days since the fight with Sensui in demon world. Hiei woke up a day later, but none of were really around at the time. He came to us instead.

"I was wondering if you would just dump me here." He said to the both of us.

"Koenma felt that we should lay low because of his troubles." Kurama said.

"I'll be relocated to Master Genkai's place soon to help out." I informed. It made sense. After all, a half-demon like me shouldn't be left to wonder with the current issues Koenma had going on.

"So you have the infamous chapter black." Kurama said getting straight to the matter at hand. Once I had someone explain exactly what it was to me, I was curious as to what Hiei had planned to do. "I can only imagine what you would do with that. Demons would pay a high price. Humanities worst crimes. Including what they've done to demons. It could spark a new, stronger rebellion. Or perhaps you would want to keep it for yourself and watch it weekly. After all, it's what you've been searching for isn't it? A concrete reason to hate all humans and to justify anything you do."

Hiei stood up and threw the tape and with his impressive speed the tape was soon in pieces. "Dammit, my sword must have slipped."

I let out a small laugh. "Perhaps Hiei can find a reason to hate humans for their lack of good taste." I said getting up. "How about we all get something to eat?" I suggested and Kurama smiled at the idea.

"I'll pass." Hiei said looking away.

I grabbed his hand and tugged him in the direction Kurama was heading. "Come on! You're just bitter you fell asleep and couldn't remain in demon world."

"Tch, you at the least should have remained. Or have you given up on your demon mother altogether." He reminded me.

I smiled and shook my head at Hiei. "I haven't given up. It's just…you wouldn't have been there." I felt my face get a little hot. "And Kurama, and Yusuke, and Kuwabara. I'd rather be with you guys then my mother any day!" I said happily.

Hiei followed reluctantly as the three of us decided to go somewhere together. I held both of their hands while I walked at an upbeat pace.

Yes, this truly had to be home.

-x-

A/N: And that's the end of Chapter Black! Three Kings Saga is next!


	18. Goodbye

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: The beginning of Three Kings Saga! Hope you guys enjoy!

-x-

I gave myself a good stretch before I headed out to do whatever I was planning to do for the day. I figured I'd check with Master Genkai if she wanted me to do anything around the temple grounds during my stay here. Koenma was still lying low and everyone including myself thought it would be best if I stayed here to prevent any trouble.

I stepped outside and took the path to where Master Genkai was usually in the mornings. To my surprise, I wasn't the only one looking for her. "Yo, half-breed." I said affectionately to my friend.

He looked around for me and when he finally spotted me he gave me a small smile and wave and I made myself over to Yusuke Urameshi. Spirit detective of the human realm…though that was probably a title taken away from him given the recent developments. Who knew all along this guy had demon blood in him.

"You look rather clean today." I said jokingly as his hair was now back to his normal length and while I couldn't see underneath his close, I'm sure it was safe to assume his markings were gone as well.

"Yeah, Kurama did a pretty good job." He remarked. His eyes darted past me. "So where's the old hag?" He asked. Same old Yusuke, but he looked as if he was in a hurry. Odd considering I couldn't imagine why since it was a school day and he was no doubt ditching.

"I'll take you to her." I said leading the way. "I was just on my way over there to see if she needed me to do anything while I was here." I said to him.

"Thanks." He said following by my side. "Hard to believe you're actually staying put without Hiei being around." He joked but I knew there was a part of him who actually meant it.

I shook my head as Yusuke was the last person I wanted to talk about these kinds of things with. "You don't get to say a word about that. Tell me, how has Keiko been since the news?" I asked, reminding him that him dying and having Puu leave her did create quite a startle in the poor girl. He didn't answer and I could only assume he got my message.

We made it to the main temple and I was going to head in, but Yusuke put a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and looked up at him. "Hey, mind if I talk to her myself first?" I nodded my head sensing it was something serious he came to her for. "Go look after Puu for me will ya?" He asked opening the screen door and heading inside.

"Okay." I said and decided I could ask Master Genkai about chores later. I headed over to the other side of the building and a certain spirit beast was rather happy to see me. While Yusuke could have easily cut off his hair, Puu did not revert to his normal size so he had to remain here. I didn't mind as it was nice to have him for company as well.

I could tell Puu wasn't much of a morning person, much like Yusuke, when after he was done nuzzling against me he picked me up and placed me on his back as he decided to fall asleep. I smiled to myself but remained on his back and looked up at the bright blue skies in front of me.

"I wonder…if I made a mistake coming back here." I said out loud to no one as Puu had fallen asleep on me. It was nice being able to say it instead of just thinking it. It had been on my mind ever since we had returned from demon world. Yusuke's words earlier reminded me of these feelings.

It was strange for me to be so complacent in one area without Hiei being around. The last time I saw him was when me, him and Kurama all went out to eat. He disappeared on us quickly after and I hadn't seen him since. He hadn't come here to visit, and there was no way of reaching him even telepathically.

I had decided to return home. That's what I had told myself when I agreed with Yusuke's decision in heading back. Yes, because to me home was where my dear friends were, but more importantly…it was where Hiei was. But during my moments of solitude here, I realized my so called 'home' was always moving, unpredictable and unreliable. Could I even call it 'home' in that case?

In all actuality…maybe I didn't have a home at all. I told myself that with Hiei, it wasn't even worth my time accepting my feelings for him until I became stronger. I had achieved that which was why I was even bothering with these thoughts at all. But I knew…for him…it wasn't enough.

My intentions for strength were originally to find my mother, then they turned into a way of making me feel like I could accept something I knew all along. Considering I came back to the human world, I realized if I wanted to go past where I was, it would be because I could tell him how I felt and have even a slight chance of it being reciprocated.

But how could I get stronger? By training with Master Genkai? It was doable now that I was staying here with Koenma in hiding.

Koenma was in hiding. His powers were no longer of any use to any of us as he had lost his position as Prince of Spirit World when he defied King Yama.

And then it hit me. Hiei was no longer a guardian at all to me. I'm sure he realized this too which was why he felt no need to linger around the properties. I was chasing a lost cause. I feel like I had lost sight of my goals.

I didn't know what I was doing anymore.

"Hello?" I shot up and looked to see who else had visited. I jumped off Puu and let the big bird catch up on sleep. I headed over to the temple entrance and my eyes widened at who it was wondering where to go from where she stood.

"Y-Yukina?" She had returned after the Dark Tournament and I was pretty sure it was permanent because after all she hadn't found her brother there.

"Oh, Sakura!" She was delighted to see someone she knew and I ran up to her and gave her a quick hug.

"What are you doing here?" I asked immensely curious.

"My people have allowed me to…have an extended stay over in human world to search for my brother." She said with a gentle tone.

I wanted to nearly fall over. Oh, jeez if Hiei knew about this. "I-I see." I said uneasily feeling like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. "So you're back to search for your brother."

Yukina nodded. "Yes, but it seems it will be much harder. I paid a small visit to Kazuma as he had expressed in wanting to see me the next time I was back. I heard you all had a very rough time since the tournament and right now it's not good for apparitions to be roaming about in human world." Well at least Kuwabara didn't try to hog all of her attention putting her in danger.

I nodded to confirm his story. "Yeah, that's why I'm staying at Master Genkai's place for the time being."

"Yes, Kazuma told me that too, so I thought I should remain here as well." She did a small bow. "I hope not to be a hindrance.

I shook my head at Yukina's politeness. She was so cute and sweet and again I found myself questioning how she and Hiei were related. "Not a bother at all. Though I feel like you should ask Master Genkai, but I'm sure she'll have no objections." I said with a smile and I gestured her over to where I was before with Puu, since Yusuke was still talking to her.

When Yusuke left and I brought Yukina to Master Genkai's attention, she had no problems with Yukina staying at her grounds either. It was a delight to both me and Yukina. It'd be nice to have a dear friend around and hopefully I could get her to change her mind on finding her brother altogether.

-x-

It was morning and a rather early one at that. I hardly slept. While having Yukina come around yesterday was a nice distraction, at night, while everyone else was asleep, my thoughts about whether I made the right decision to stay kept me up.

When Yusuke was going to leave, it was late so he decided to crash at Genkai's for the night. In the morning he planned to leave to meet someone Genkai had advised him to go talk to.

I had woken up early, but Yusuke woke up earlier. I was hoping to talk to him because I'm sure he had his own doubts with his ancestor and such. I walked over to my window and opened it to let some fresh air in. The birds were beginning to stir and there was a gentle breeze flowing into the room. Today would have nice weather.

I looked to out see the forest around me was quiet and still. A scenery like this made it hard to believe that just a few days ago a portal to the demon world was sealed up. It was after that thought that made me realize a walk was in order to clear up my mind.

I decided to head to the beach as that was the one place I had yet to explore of Genkai's land. It wasn't such a far walk. Yukina was still asleep so I didn't want to bother her getting up to go with me on a short walk.

I walked down the stairs that led away from the temple and took the path that led to the beach. Actually it led to a cliff that overlooked the beach. The path diverged from there down the cliff to the actual sand.

The smell of the salt was stinging but inviting at the same time. "Someday, the whole gang should come here." I said to myself as I looked at water that came in and out of the shore. "Alright, let's head down to the waters!" I said to myself and was about to head down, but then I felt a presence. A very familiar presence.

I looked around and eventually I spotted resting atop of the last tree before the cliff area was a familiar three-eyed demon trying to get some shut-eye it looked like. I walked over to him and looked up and raised my voice so he could hear in case he really had started to doze. "Funny, out of everyone we know, you're the last I'd expected to run into at the beach. Miss me?" I teased.

He must have not been in deep slumber as he opened up one eye and looked down to see me. "Don't flatter yourself." Same old Hiei. "I just wanted to get away from the noise." He must have been speaking of the cities.

"I was only kidding." I remarked about the flattering part. He could have at least tried to play along. "You know you're not the first to be here at Master Genkai's land. Yusuke was here just the other day." I remembered my brief run in with him. "It's surprising isn't it? That he turned out to be half demon, that is." I added in trying to make conversation with Hiei.

"It would explain some things." Hiei remarked about Yusuke's newly awakened powers. Actually I was surprised he had given an answer at all.

"I think what surprised me more was how you reacted to his death. You've gotten so strong." I complimented. "Pretty soon, you won't need me to heal you anymore." I said. My healing skills were mediocre and with him getting stronger there was no need. Besides, Yukina was much better at healing than me.

"Oh, did you know Yukina is here?" I asked him. "She says she's gotten an extended period to search for her brother in the human world." I told him of what she told me. "It's interesting on how she doesn't seem to have a clue about her brother. How do you know about her?" I asked. I was extremely curious and I thought it was only fair since he knew of my background.

"That is none of your concern." He snapped back quickly.

I frowned. I thought so. "Fine, maybe I'll just ask Yukina." I said the last thought out loud and when I realized I did, I mentally cursed myself a little. It's not like I was stupid enough to spill the beans on Hiei's secret. I'd never do that, but I'm sure my small blurb wouldn't make him happy.

"You will do no such thing." He used a deadly warning tone and glared at me. I was right.

My thoughts of me making the right decision suddenly started to flood back. I realized I was tired. Completely tired of this. "You're not the boss of me, Hiei." I spoke. Once those words came out, more just flood out. "You were just a guardian. And if anything that role of yours is gone too now that Koenma is hiding from his father."

I didn't think I'd feel such a relief saying those words, but they came with such ease. The thought of not being able to stick around him was sad to me, once. My feelings for him I was sure of, but I was also quite sure they wouldn't be reciprocated. At some point, I'd have to walk on my own two feet. Why not make this my moment.

He didn't say anything and I took off my shoes. "I'm going for a walk." I grumbled as I headed down to the beach. After all, I came here to see the ocean, not him, I reminded myself as I finally stepped onto the warm sand.

The feeling of the grains fitting in between my toes with each step was a comforting feeling. I stopped short at where the water reached the highest point in the shore before it was pulled back into the ocean. I looked out and noticed the waves were a little big so it made me think twice about getting my feet wet.

I turned my head just slightly to get a glance to see if Hiei had left yet or if he was still up in his precious tree. He wasn't though and I thought he had left. Another glance and I saw that he was actually walking on the beach as well.

It was surprising but I decided to just shrug it off as I took a step towards the water. When the water reached my knees, I took off my jacket and decided to just wear the tank top I had underneath. I threw the jacket onto the shore and I continued to head out into the water. It was really refreshing. I eventually reached the part of the ocean where it was almost at my shoulders.

I turned around and saw that he had decided to just sit on the sand. He acted like the water was such a dangerous thing to go near, but yet he was the one who decided to walk over. I decided to play a little trick on him to try and get him into the water. If he was going to follow me this far, he might as well head into the water as well.

"Do you plan to just sit there or are you going to enjoy the water-" I called out to him and then I cut my words short as I decided to 'slip and fall' into the water. If this got him into the water I could tease him about it. If it didn't, I could still tease him about how a mean a person could be letting a girl drown.

That was my plan at first to fake drown. Only the problem was that the moment I decided to 'trip' into the waters, a wave came crashing overhead. It sent me tumbling around the waters as I wasn't expecting it and it messed up my sense of direction. I closed my eyes because the salt water was starting to sting from the twisting.

I figured instead of struggling, I could at least wait it out and then head to the top from there. Eventually I stopped spinning and I opened my eyes to figure out where the surface was and when I figured it out I swam up in that direction, only to my misfortune another wave came and started to push me about some more. This was not how I had planned things.

I was being tossed around again and it wasn't a fun thought. Especially when I felt I hit something. A rock? No it was too soft. I opened my eyes to see what animal had the misfortune to bump into me, but when I opened my eyes, it was Hiei who I saw. I opened my mouth in shock but that was a mistake as I quickly lost breath and now I was struggling to get to the surface. What the hell was he doing here?

Pretty soon, I felt chills running through me and I was coughing and gagging in the most unladylike manner. I had felt myself being tugged up only to see it was Hiei who had managed to pull me and onto waters where I could stand.

I was hunched over coughing out any remains of salt water. "Do you know how to swim?" He mocked me. It was a joke. He wasn't supposed to come running to save me.

I let out once last cough and shot him a look. "I can swim just fine. I told you," I said getting up and deciding to head back to the shore. "You're not my guardian anymore."

I was annoyed by that little rescue show of his and suddenly the beach was the last place I wanted to be. On my walk back, I proceeded to just make a fool of myself more by tripping and yelping in pain. I fell in shallow waters but I looked around to see I had stepped on a jellyfish and the stingers made me lose balance. I kicked it aside on its smooth part as to not get stung again. I was in no mood.

I pulled myself up and felt a stinging pain when I landed on the foot that got the brunt of the sting. I grumbled as I limped over to pick up my jacket hoping it could soak up some of the water on me. I only arrived at the shore to have my eyes narrow at where the water had managed to sneak up on. My jacket was soaked. I twisted my hair to get any other water droplets out and I picked up my jacket.

"Thanks." I called back to him as he did pull me out of the ocean roller coaster but it was a half-assed remark. I continued to limp towards the path that would take me back to my room at Master Genkai's and change into what was only my spare set of clothes. At least they were dry.

I knew he was probably smirking behind me. When I was with others or by myself, I'm fine. I probably could have sense that jellyfish and missed another embarrassing moment. But it was around him that I seemed to goof, make a fool of myself or something that would warrant him to think I was a child.

It was another one of those moments when I could hear him walking behind me. "You'll agitate it more if you try to walk back in that condition." He said as he easily walked past me and stepped in front. He bent down and waited for me to get on.

I kind of just stood there not knowing what to do. "Are you going to stand there like a fool, or should I leave you stranded?" He asked.

I grumbled. I was being treated like a child again. But I ended up gravitating towards him anyway and got on his back and he quickly and swiftly took me back to my room. I headed inside and closed the door. As I changed into the lovely pink and yellow garment I wore only once at the dark tournament, the thoughts that had been bugging me and weighing on my mind started to settle in.

"Hiei," I said even though I was probably talking to an empty hallway. "Hiei, do you think I made the right decision. Coming back here?" I asked. I had finished changing and I opened the door and to my surprise he was still standing there with his deep red eyes staring directly at me.

"Don't tell me that's why you've been trying to act as if you're independent." He said and somehow those words really stung. "Get rid of your doubts if you have any. You made your choice now live up to it." Hiei spoke harshly but bluntly.

His eyes then glanced out to the window. "You said Yukina was here right?" He asked me and I nodded. "I'm leaving." He remarked and he walked over to the window and jumped out. I walked over and watched to see him go off.

_It seems I have some guests following me. I don't want them around Yukina…or you considering the daze you're in._ That was the last I heard from him.

I watched the window even though he was long gone. I was wondering who was following him, but he would have no problems dealing with them whoever they were.

His others words lingered longer. The ones about me trying to act independent. I wasn't acting. I was trying really hard. That jerk just didn't know how much I cared so that's probably why it seemed I was the way I acted.

I hung my head and decided that I would just wash my one set of clothes. It was only morning, but I was already completely wiped out.

Hiei hadn't come back that day. He hadn't come back the next. I spent that time helping out at the temple and talking to Yukina. It was going to be just another day. Or so I thought until Yusuke arrived at the temple saying he had some things to discuss with all of us. In fact, he sent Botan to go fetch Kuwabara because he felt all of us needed to hear.

I had asked him where was Keiko but he said he had already told her, so that was done.

When Botan arrived at the temple with Kuwabara, sure enough he noticed Yukina out of everyone first. She seemed overwhelmed but was as kind as ever towards him.

"Hey, lover boy, I didn't call you down here to flirt." Yusuke reminded him of his presence and he turned around.

"Listen, I called you guys here because I have some things to tell you." Yusuke was serious. He didn't have any of the carefree punk attitude I usually expected from him. "After everything that's happened lately with Sensui, and Kuwabara, Sakura." He turned to the two of us. "You remember how I was 'different' in the final moments of fighting the guy." We both nodded. "Then you guys should know I don't like to leave things unsettled. That's why I've decided to go back to demon world."

All of us were quiet. Even Master Genkai didn't have anything to say. And in a flash of lightning from the storm going on outside, Kuwabara made a grab at Yusuke's collar. "What do you mean you're going back?" He yelled to Yusuke's face. "When we were there you said you wanted to go home, and now that we're here you want to go back? Maybe you're just a spoiled brat who can't be anywhere!" Kuwabara was certainly livid about the whole subject.

"I've decided, despite your kind hearted tribute, I'm going back." Yusuke seemed unfazed by Kuwabara's outburst.

"So what are you going to do there?" Kuwabara demanded. "You're going to become one of them and come back and attack us?" So his concerns were coming out.

"I don't know." Was all Yusuke replied with.

"You don't know?" Kuwabara asked and finally he let go of Yusuke's collar only to send a punch straight to his face.

We were all shocked as we watched Yusuke fly through the temple doors. He stayed on the ground for a few seconds before getting back up. He chuckled as he wiped the spot where the hit landed. "I guess I'll miss your weak-ass punches the most Kuwabara. So I guess I better savor this last one while I can." He got back on his feet and looked at Kuwabara mostly. "Anyway, I don't know what to expect when I get there, that's why I'm going back there to find out more about myself and what I'm capable of. I do know one thing. I'm no good to you or anyone else if I can't keep control of my own body or its actions. You get that?" He asked Kuwabara but acknowledged the rest of us as well.

"And what about your duty to protect?" I can tell Kuwabara was taking this pretty hard. "In all of your selfishness, you forget you're still a spirit detective!"

"Not anymore he's not." The girls and I looked over at the door to see it was Koenma who spoke. "Spirit World has given him a dishonorable discharge of his duties. Still there's that pesky little death warrant my father has placed on that head of his." Koenma remarked.

"What?" I exclaimed. "I guess Spirit World doesn't care that it was him who prevented mankind's destruction." I grumbled.

"There's a death warrant?" Kuwabara was shocked by the news.

"Yeah, I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. But I'm not using it as an excuse either." Yusuke chimed in. "But the fact that every second I spend here makes me one step closer to assassination does make demon world pretty appealing."

I turned around to see Master Genkai finally uprooted from her spot. I was curious as to see what was going through her head as she hadn't said anything this entire time. "Do you remember when you first came to me?" She asked Yusuke. "Before your awareness had fully developed. You had such difficulty fighting in the darkness. All that time I have guided you through the shadows and tried to shed light on what you could be but now Yusuke has gone beyond us all." She lit a candle as she spoke. "And as he learned, sometimes the more you see, the less clear things become. Yusuke thought he knew it all. He thought he was just a dime a dozen punk."

She finished lighting the candles and turned to face Yusuke directly. "The more he learns about himself the more confused he gets. I think we owe it to him to have the chance to fumble around in the darkness for answers. Because the truth is we can't stop his demon blood from causing him to do wrong. We just have to have faith. Is that too much to ask Kuwabara?"

He grumbled at Genkai's words. "Then how do you propose to get back to your precious homeland? In case you forgot, the hole to demon world was sealed up!" He did have a point.

"Then we'll just open it back up." We all turned to Koenma in surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Kuwabara asked and if to answer him we felt a spike of energy and we all headed outside to see some members from the SDF had arrived. Goody.

"Are you ready for your departure, Mr. Urameshi?" They asked. Quite formal considering they tried to kill him.

"Oh yeah anytime you're ready." He answered calmly.

Kuwabara was still outraged by the fact they would do such a thing and Koenma had explained they were happy to do such a thing. The SDF members backed up his claim saying that Yusuke leaving human world was something desired among their kind and it was for the safety of the world.

"So what if someone like Toguro or Sensui come along? You expect me, Hiei and Kurama to fight them off with our bare hands?" Kuwabara asked.

"Why do you always leave me out?" I asked him accusingly.

"Can it! This isn't the time." He yelled back at me and I was rather surprised at his attitude. Koenma tried to explain that demon world was a lot more complex than Kuwabara let on but he wouldn't hear any of it. Not that Koenma could get a chance to say more as a familiar face had appeared from the shadows.

It was Hiei. I wondered where he had gone since I last saw him, but I suppose that was none of my business. "I was personally invited to demon world as well." He spoke calmly.

Kuwabara was visibly showing his surprise while I tried my best to keep my composure. He was going to leave. There was no question. "Don't tell me you're going to fight on behalf of Urameshi's dear demon daddy too?" Kuwabara asked.

"Actually it's the opposite. The invitation was from one of Raizen's enemies. Mukuro." He stated. An enemy of Yusuke's ancestor…that spelled trouble in my head.

"You're not really going to accept that, are you Hiei?" Kuwabara asked.

"In fact I am." I knew it. "I belong in demon world." He stated.

"Even if that means going against your friend Urameshi?" Kuwabara argued.

"Stop it Kuwabara." I said not looking at either of them. "His mind is made up. He's right. He does belong in demon world. Besides, I'm sure he'd love a chance to fight Yusuke with how things have turned out." I said feigning a smile at him.

"If that is our destinies, then so be it." He answered back. "It's like Sakura said, I've also always wanted a rematch."

"Maybe it's my destiny too." I turned to the side to see Kurama coming out of the bushes.

"You too Kurama…" It was a statement from me. Not a question.

"My presence in demon world has been requested. And by the behest of the third ruler, Yomi." Kurama said taking a step closer towards us. "An old acquaintance."

"I feel like the ugly one at a dance." Kuwabara said as all of his friends seemed to be leaving. "You're probably going to run off with Hiei too aren't you Sakura?" He asked me. "I mean you're just like Urameshi now." He said turning towards me.

If these matters were presented to me before I had my own doubts, he would be right. I'd follow Hiei in a heartbeat. "You're wrong." I said standing my ground on this decision. "I have no invite to demon world like you Kuwabara and therefore I have no purpose going to demon world."

_So it seems you were full of talk about your demon mother._ I heard Hiei's words in my head.

_Yusuke wants to know more about himself, Kurama is meeting an old friend as he said, and you? You just want to go back where you belong. I don't necessarily belong there. So I get there and kill my mother. What purpose would I have after? Certainly not chasing you around._ I communicated back to him.

_At least you've made a decision. Albeit a poor one, but at least you aren't jumping back and forth like you were the last time I saw you._

"I'll be leaving for demon world myself, though after Yusuke and Hiei do." Kurama said disrupting our connection as I decided to refocus on the situation at hand.

Hearing Kurama and Hiei's decision sent Kuwabara off on a new rage. He was blubbering about how everyone was giving up on the good fight and how he considered all of us to be his friends. Hiei only gave him a snarky remark and that prompted Kuwabara to jump over the ledge and grab Hiei by his shirt collar. He was ready to land a hit until Master Genkai ordered him to stop.

"Get off of it old lady, they're going to demon world! Evil is all they do!" He shouted.

Yukina and Botan had made their way outside now and Yukina took a step forward. "Kazuma just because someone is born a demon doesn't necessarily make him evil. Or have you forgotten I too am a demon." I step forward in front of Yukina and stared at Kuwabara.

"Do you want to hit me too Kuwabara?" I asked.

He looked defeated and hearing those words from Yukina was what probably brought him back to reality and allowed him to think a bit more clearly on the situation.

Yusuke jumped off the ledge and approached Kuwabara and spoke in a quiet voice to him. I only heard snippets. Kuwabara was to continue his studies and Yusuke would return in three years. Kuwabara seemed better now and even requested Yusuke to search for Yukina's long lost brother. Oh dear…

"Why does everyone get weird when I bring up her brother?" Kuwabara asked.

"So Yusuke really is going to demon world?" We turned around to see Shizuru and Genkai only laughed about how if Yusuke didn't have danger he'd die of boredom. Can't have him dying a third time.

The SDF reminded Yusuke it was time and we all headed to the site where the portal was. We all stood around we got to say our goodbyes to Yusuke.

Puu seemed a bit distraught being separated from Yusuke, so he tried to calm him down.

"Urameshi. Forget what I said before. We may choose to follow different paths, but you and me will always be…" Kuwabara didn't finish his statement but I'm sure Yusuke got the message. "I'm sorry I just got some dirt stuck in my contacts."

"You don't wear any contacts." Yukina said exposing his excuse.

"The portal is ready, Mr. Urameshi." The SDF said.

Yusuke nodded and turned his back towards us. "Right, I guess this is my cue. Well Kurama, Hiei. See ya on the flipside." Yusuke walked towards the portal and turned around to face us once more. "So long guys!" He said with a smile and jumped right into the portal with no hesitations.

I felt tears well up a little and quickly wiped them off. "Right so who's next?" An SDF officer asked.

Kurama was going to leave later, so that meant Hiei. Hiei was ready to leave without a word to any of us. He would have left right away if Yukina had not stopped him and requested for him to search for her brother with the Jagan of his. She even gave him a special hiraseki stone that was different from the usual ones. Her brother would supposedly have a matching one but I never saw Hiei have that in his possession.

Hiei was his usual curt self, telling Yukina to give up on the search for her brother. Her response was what made me question once again why the two were related. "I guess, that's the kind of advice one would get from their older brother." She smiled gently at him.

Hiei turned around and faced the portal. "I suppose I'll run into you at some point Kurama so there's no point in dragging this any longer." He said. "That leaves just you Sakura."

"Yes, just me." My eyes were fixated on his backside for what felt like such a long time. I had nothing to give like Yukina and there was no chance of seeing him again like Kurama. This was truly goodbye.

But I didn't want to say goodbye. "Thank you." I said to him.

He didn't say anything back and he jumped into the portal. "Were those smart last words?" Kurama asked me. "I'm sure there was much more you wanted to say." All knowing as always.

In truth, I relied on Hiei too much and I felt perhaps that's why I decided to return back here because he was where I felt at home. He had become my haven. I think with him gone, I could see for myself if that really was the case or if my feelings for him led me to believe that.

I shook my head finally at Kurama's words. "Hiei always has said I talked too much."

-x-

A couple of days passed since Yusuke and Hiei had left. I wish I could say things were quieter without them around, but neither of them visited often so the noise level was relatively the same at the temple.

I headed outside and pulled my outfit off of the clothesline that was up for me and Yukina to use. It was finally clean and dry after the last time I wore the outfit. "Oh good morning Sakura." I turned around to see it was Yukina who had brought out some cloths to hang up to dry.

"Morning, Yukina. Chores already?" I asked. While we both helped out while staying here, I had to say she definitely put in a lot more effort.

"Well Master Genkai left for the day to take care of some things, so I thought I'd put some of these out to dry before she came back tonight." She explained.

I looked at Yukina who seemed so at ease in her yukata where I had difficulties wearing mine for a long period of time. It was beautiful, but rather restricting when it came to movements. I wonder if she felt the same. "Yukina, since she's out for the day, how about we go shopping?" I smiled at her and clasped my hands together. "Let's go out and have some fun!"

-x-

A/N: What Sakura's not going to demon world? How does she play into the Three Kings saga? Well you'll just have to wait and find out! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next!


	19. Alliance

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: And the Three Kings Saga continues…with shopping?

-x-

"Are you sure it's okay to venture so far away from Master Genkai's?" Yukina asked. "I understand that as demons we should stay low…" she said as we waited for the bus to take us to the city.

I waved my hand in the air to dismiss her worries. "It'll be alright. As long as we don't try any funny business we'll fit right in. And if we get some clothes today, we can fit in even better the next time around." I said smiling widely at her. It was exciting being able to spend time with my friend and to do something so normal for once…I think it would be a good thing to keep a lot off of my mind.

The bus arrived and we both boarded and I took care of her fee and the ride was a smooth and pleasant ride filled with chattering between the two of us. From where I sat, I could see the forest slowly starting to become the city as tree's started to become houses and houses became businesses.

"Amazing." Yukina said looking at the tall buildings. "We don't have those in demon world…at least I don't think so." She said with a small smile.

"What do you mean you don't think so?" I asked curious as to what else demon world looked like since I could only assume what I saw during Yusuke's fight with Sensui was a very small portion. And even then I was more fixated on the fight rather than the surroundings.

"I've only ever remained on the island of my people. It's always snowing, so coming here to see the trees so green was actually pleasant. But I've never really gone anywhere else." She explained.

I remembered her conversation with Hiei. "You left all that behind right?" I asked. "Because you don't like your people anymore?" She nodded. "I'm sorry to hear that. Even more so about the story behind your brother."

"It's cruel." She said with her eyes lowering. "That day they threw my brother off the cliffs for him to die, their hearts were already so frozen, that they didn't realize they had killed off one of their own. I don't blame my mother for taking her life, because I'm sure watching that must have been more than her heart could handle that day."

The bus came to a halt and I got up to indicate to Yukina this was our stop. "So you really plan to stay here for good?" I asked since she seemed firm on her decision to forego her koorime lifestyle.

Yukina nodded. "Yes, besides I have something waiting for me here." I looked back at her as she was getting off the steps. "I will wait for when Mr. Hiei tells me about my brother himself."

The way she worded that I couldn't help but chuckle nervously. "O-Oh yeah, you asked him to search for your brother. That's right." I awkwardly walked away from the bus stop and towards the inner part of the city where the shops were. "R-Right! We came here for shopping." I said trying to change the subject.

Yukina smiled and let out a small laugh as she followed me. "Sakura, it seems you are much more embarrassed over the mention of Mr. Hiei." She said speaking of the fire-demons' name again. "When we first met, I thought you two were particularly close. I'm surprised you decided to stay here."

I frowned at the mention of my decision. "Well…I wasn't invited, though I'm sure that hasn't stopped me before." I shrugged my shoulders. "Hiei…I can't bother him anymore. It's because I care a lot about him that I've decided I'm not going to care about him…if that makes any sense." I said with a nervous chuckle.

Yukina shook her head. "It doesn't, but I'm sure you two will work something out." She had a sweet smile about her and we dropped it at that.

Night fell and we had a good amount of normal clothes and we decided to head back to make dinner in order to save some money after the amount we had spent.

The ride back was peaceful and the walk up the steps was cathartic. It was when we reached the top of the steps that things went awry.

I felt a large blast of spirit energy head towards me. "Watch out!" I shouted as I pushed Yukina out of the way and I barely missed the blast by slamming myself into the ground. I got up and looked around quickly.

"I was waiting for you to come back. I was getting bored." My eyes averted to where the voice was coming from and my eyes widened to see a girl. She was about Keiko's height and had bright blue eyes with her jet, black hair tied up in a ponytail.

"Who are you?" I asked her getting up and summoning my weapon without hesitation.

"None of your business." She said holding out her hand and summoning a scythe like weapon. The way she summoned her weapon and I could feel demon energy radiating from her…

"Are you a syph?" I asked.

"Like I said, none of your business. I was sent here to kill you, that's all." She said gripping her weapon ready for combat.

"If you're just here for me, then we can let her go right?" I turned to Yukina and then back to the mysterious girl. She nodded and I looked back at Yukina. "Yukina, listen to me closely, get away from here. Far as possible. Understood? No arguing!" I shouted when I saw her ready to protest. If I died, there was no assurance this girl wouldn't go after Yukina and I'm sure I'd hate to go through death again with Hiei.

Yukina ran and I turned my full attention to the raven-haired girl. The minute I had her in my front vision she had disappeared and her scythe was in my face. Luckily I brought my blade in front of my chest in order to block the attack but there was such force behind it, I felt myself getting pushed back.

"Don't fight, just die." I heard her say and I stared at her eyes for a moment noticing a flicker in them. I discharged some electricity which was enough for her to give up her attack and back off.

"You developed your spirit energy into an element?" She asked surprised.

"You seem to know a lot about me. You must be a syph." I said being more on guard this time around in case she tried to attack again.

"If you know, then why ask?" She readied her weapon again and launched into another flurry of swings that were very difficult on my part to dodge. When I had a small opening, I used it to create more distance from us.

"You just want to prolong your death by running away." She let out a sigh. "I have no choice then." She struck her scythe into the ground and from the tip of it the grass that it touched began to freeze. Ice? "Glacial prison!" The ice from the ground curled up and encased the two of us in a large icy prison. Fitting name.

I sent a blast of electricity at the wall and it barely made a dent in it. I was stuck here.

"Either you die, or I die. I definitely don't plan to die." She said coming at me again with the scythe. I could only dodge now that I had nowhere to run. This was bad.

Her assault stopped for a second and I was backed to the wall. I stood there panting as it took a lot to follow the movements of her scythe. I was going to take a moment to breathe but I looked down to see the icy floor was trying to freeze over my shoes.

I jumped away breaking the light sheets of ice. I moved from one thing only to be met with another barrage of her scythe. "Do you see? If you don't keep moving you'll be frozen by my prison. If you try to move, I'll come at you with my scythe. Just give up and die." She said as she continued to swing.

Damn. I was in a really tough situation. I wonder which route I should go for?

I didn't get a chance to choose as she battered me into the wall and had the scythe bar me from movement. The ice was beginning to take over again.

I tried to summon electricity to blast her away but my arms were spread out that even if I shot it at her, she could dodge them easily. If only it was raining…

This was stupid. I know I had gotten stronger. So why…why did she trap me so easily? Why did I have to rely on a storm for a power I knew I was capable of? This was wrong. It was all wrong. All wrong!

Electricity welled up all on me. I just needed sufficient power to summon the electrical wolf. All limits on my electricity were being lifted.

It was enough to cause the girl to back off but she didn't need to hold me back as the ice was already freezing over and holding me in place.

Come on…come on…let me summon you. "I'm right here! Come to me!" I screamed and felt a horrible shock throughout my body but it was only for a moment as it left and appeared in front of me…the harbinger of storms.

"Such power…" I heard her mutter.

"You have summoned me…but at least there is blood for me to spill." I heard its voice boom inside my mind.

"No!" I shouted it back to it. "You need to defeat her and help me escape. You will not kill her." I commanded.

"Do not forget who you are dealing with. You are the one who called upon my power. Not the other way around. You do not get to make conditions." It was rearing to head straight at her.

"No!" I shouted. "You're right. I summoned you with my power! My power!" It began to run towards her but she was going to brace herself for the hit. "You listen to me!" I tried to exert out more of my energy so I could resummons it back or at least prevent it from going full force at her. "You listen to me!" I shouted at it once more with everything I had.

-x-

I woke up and instead of seeing Botan like I was expecting I was met with the ceilings of Master Genkai's humble abode. "I'm alive?" I murmured in surprise.

"You're awake." I turned to my side to see there was a futon set up next to mine and it was the girl who I had faced from before.

"How long was I out for?" I asked her as I got up.

"Honestly, that's what you ask me?" She hit me on the head. "Being in the human world has made you grow up in the strangest of ways!" She retorted in disbelief. "You release a frightening power and then you change your mind because you want me to live? Who does that?" She exclaimed.

I chuckled. "I wanted to get you to calm down to answer my questions. I would normally have no problems killing…but your eyes, they really weren't keen on murdering me." I told her what I had observed during our battles.

"Hmph." She crossed her arms. It looked like she still had some injuries which made me wonder how successful I was in stopping my summon. "Well?" I was shaken out of my thoughts by her voice. "You have my attention now. What are you questions?"

I sat up and turned to face her completely. "My name is Sakura, what's yours?" I asked extending my hand out.

She didn't take it as expected. "Himawari." She answered.

"Alright, Himawari, what happened in our battle?" I wanted to know what happened. Honestly the summon should have killed her and probably me for being so unwilling with its inner nature.

"That summon spirit did get me, but not entirely. It seems at the last second you were able to fully control it as it grazed me to the side instead of taking my life. You had already passed out by this time. As a way of communicating with you it told me something before I passed out. It said that it doesn't like being told what to do. But under your power…it might just have a change of heart. It will test you the next time you summon it. You will have a lot to prove and that I should consider myself lucky. I passed out right after that. When I woke up I was being healed by the other girl who was with you when I tried ambushing you."

"I see. I'm guessing Master Genkai saw it was fine to keep you here as long as you didn't try to attack again." I concluded.

"I can't kill you yet. You've spared my life and now I'm indebted to you. I hate being in debt." She grumbled.

I shrugged. "Like I said it was just to ask some questions. My next question. Are you a syph? And if so, why have you come here?" I asked with apprehension.

Himawari nodded. "I am like you, though not half human. I was sent by the leader of my…our kind to eliminate you." Someone who sent their own to the human world with an intent to kill me…yes, it had to be no one else, but my mother.

"Tell me. Was her name Sayuri?" I knew the answer, but I had to confirm it.

Her eyes widened. "How do you know?" She didn't wait for me to explain. "Yes, Sayuri was the one who ordered me to kill you." She looked down to her knees as if thinking carefully of what she wanted to say next. "You said before that I looked like I didn't want to kill you. Well, you were right. To Sayuri, your existence is something that she hates and she claims it's because you're a half-breed. But to me, I don't see that as enough warrant to kill you. Humans have never affected us so badly, and regardless half of you has the syph bloodline flowing through your veins. Unless you betrayed us, I saw no reason to kill you…but her words are absolute. I had no choice."

I gripped my fists. She wanted me dead so badly but she couldn't do it to herself. I was in appalled that my mother was such a coward. "I want to meet her." I said through clenched teeth. "I want to meet her and make her face me herself. If she wanted me dead, she should have been the one to do it!" I argued.

"She's the leader. She has the right to do whatever she wants." Himawari explained.

I slammed my fist into the floor. "That's wrong! If you had died, she would have lost someone from the clan. It's not worth it to sacrifice others for the sake of your revenge." I got up.

"Where are you going?" She asked me.

"To find a way to get to demon world. She wants me dead? Then fine! But she faces me on her own." I took a step only to trip due to Himawari placing her foot out.

"You're in no condition to head off to demon world. You still need to recover." She said.

"So I'll get Yukina to heal me up and stick a couple of band aids on! I'm going! She's done a lot of crap in my life, and I'm tired of her dragging down others for it." I yelled at her and perhaps I was too harsh as she sat staring at me blankly.

Eventually she let out a sigh. "Please, calm down. If I had known you were this hot-headed I wouldn't have said anything. I suppose if you have the energy to go on a tirade, then you should use it efficiently to heal in time for tonight. There will be a portal opening up to have me return. You can come with me." She said trying to look exasperated.

I was taken aback by her offer. "Wh…Why are you helping me?" I asked her upfront.

"Because I want Sayuri dead as well." She said changing her expressions to a serious one. "She's incredibly strong. Everyone suspected that me killing you would be a quick job…but after our fight I can see that we greatly underestimated you. You have quite the potential within you. I said I was indebted to you, but it looks like I might have to be indebted to you further." She bowed before me. "I don't know why you want her dead, but please kill her for the sake of my clan. I love them all dearly and to be under her rule where she completely destroys everything about us, it is not something I can tolerate anymore. I want her gone." She asked me and I could sense the determination in her eyes.

I agreed without hesitation. "Okay. You get me to demon world, and I'll do everything I can to stop her." It's what I told her, but in truth, I didn't know if I could. Himawari was tough to go against. I couldn't imagine what my mother's strength would be like if she was Himawari's leader.

Himawari sat up and thanked me. "When we get there, we need to find someone to train you sufficiently. If we head straight back, I'm sure we'll both die very quickly." She explained.

"Both of us?" I questioned her word choice.

"Yes. My mission was to kill you and seeing that I've failed, I must accept my punishment in the same manner as my failure." Her eyes showed a degree of fright as she thought of the consequences.

"Can't you say you did?" I looked around. "Maybe you can bring something that's mine as proof." I suggested.

She shook her head. "There's no point in lying. There's someone among us who has the ability to detect lies."

I tried to wrap my head around all this. "I don't understand. And that person is using their power against their own will?" Himawari nodded. "Why are you letting someone control you like that?" I asked completely flabbergasted.

Himawari sighed. "I suppose before we go barging in, I should explain a little bit more to you." I nodded, liking the idea of that. "But first, tell me of what you know." She asked of me first.

I thought back to everything I had learned through others. "I've been told that we are syphs. We are demons with unique abilities through breeding. Apparently females can only mate twice in their lifetime and it's the females who are more revered while the males are left to be lackeys and bodyguards. Finally, the name we got was derived from our ability to 'steal' another's abilities by mating. This stealing of the ability was actually killing off their lover." I thought back to my father and bit my lip.

Himawari listened intently and then finally she nodded. "You are not entirely wrong. Let me tell you the differences of the clan I knew of as a child and the clan I know of now. Lady Shunka was the leader of our clan. She gave birth to one child because the one she loved died and she vowed never to be with anyone else again. Still, she did not make anyone else follow her example. Rumors of her lover's death spread and that is how we got our name. Lady Shunka believed that we were capable of making our own decisions, but at the same time she thought we should all stick together. Especially given our unique abilities."

I continued to listen intently to Himawari. "In time, she grew older and realized she would need a successor. It was agreed that the one she chose would be someone that she felt best for our clan. However, before she could make her decision, her own daughter killed her. Our current leader, Lady Sayuri. She claimed that if she defeated the strongest of our clan, it meant she was the most fit to rule us. And that's when perceptions of us began to become warped. You said that you heard we could only produce offspring twice. That is a lie. We are capable of more than that, but Sayuri forbids it. She says we want to be a rare flower among demons, not a common weed. In reality, I think she fears of our numbers should we do otherwise. Females are the only ones who can have new abilities yes, but males are capable of permanently sealing abilities. It comes at a price of course. Their life. Sayuri keeps them around as bodyguards in the events that someone too strong comes along she makes them sacrifice themselves to seal abilities." I felt sickened that my mother could sacrifice people so easily. And here I thought it was just me.

"The last thing you mentioned was that we had a tendency to kill off those who we mated with. This has been a result of Sayuri's ruling. It was an effort to prevent us from having two children with the same ability. Nothing else. She demanded complete control over us." Himawari gravely finished. "W-What's wrong?" She said looking at me.

"I'm sorry." I said sniffling as I wiped away my tears. "It seems…that all of you have suffered so much. Here I am wanting to get back at her for my own selfish reasons, but there's so much more that I didn't know about. I'm sorry, Himawari." I said crying and embracing her.

"W-What on earth are you doing?" She asked pushing me off. "S-Stop those tears!" She obviously didn't know how to comfort someone.

Eventually, the waterworks died down. "I won't let her kill you." Himawari was shocked once again by me. "You didn't kill me because you said we had the same blood…even though I'm half human. If that's the case, I feel the same towards you. I won't let her spill any more of my blood."

Himawari raised an eyebrow at me and then burst out laughing. "And I suppose Sayuri will be an exception to this bold resolve of yours?"

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Well of course. I've been out to get her ever since I first knew of her." I added in and grinned.

"You are so strange!" Himawari exclaimed before laughing. "I wonder if all humans are like this. In any case, I suppose it's best I ran into you first." She finally extended her hand out to me. "It's nice to meet you…Sakura."

I took hers and gladly shook it. Somehow, I felt a bond struck in a way I couldn't imagine. "Yes, same to you Himawari."

-x-

A/N: Short chapter I'm sorry! But this is a small build up to the rest of the Three King's Saga! Sakura is finally going to demon world? What do you guys think'll happen! Thanks for reading and hope you drop a review! Also have a Bleach story if you guys want to check it out!


	20. Terms

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: Hello boys and girls I'm back! I don't know how many of you are still around and willing to read this, but those who've stuck around, I say a dozen thanks! FIRST OFF SOME VERY IMPORTANT THINGS!

As I started to write the new chapter, I realized how much I forgot and went back to reread, only to go back and fix the chapters one by one. As a result all of them have minor to major changes to them. The major ones are ch.13, 14, and 19. 13 has a bonus scene from Eizou Hakusho. 14 has a minor conversation change with Sakura and her friends. Finally, if anything, you MUST GO BACK TO CHAPTER 19 AND REREAD! I decided to revamp that one a lot and it has very important information to the rest of this story. So please go back and read that before you move on to this.

Did you go read? Great! Welcome back! Now that that's been done, I hope you enjoy this chapter and the revitalization of A Single Flower!

-x-

"So, you'll be heading to demon world?" Genkai addressed me as she drank her tea. "I can't say it's a surprise that you are going, but rather the reason you're going." She smirked at me. "If you run into the dimwit, make sure you knock him over me. I'm sure he's finding a way to slack off somehow." I chuckled but went up to hug her, happy to see that she was accepting of it.

"I'll make sure to take care of things." Yukina said to me and I felt a bit bad now leaving all the chores to her. Regardless, she met me with a warm smile. "I hope for your safe return, Sakura." I too hugged her.

With that, we only had to make a few final preparations before Himawari and I headed to where the portal would open up.

We walked together down the steps that led to Genkai's place. "Hey Sakura, so how come you don't think I'm trying to trick you into back to demon world where we'll ambush you and kill you or something." Himawari asked me on the way down.

"Hmm? Well I guess because I never really thought of it." I said bluntly and was met with a hit on the head from her. "Ouch! Was that necessary?" I asked rubbing the spot on my head.

"Yes, it was. If you can't be more wary, you're going to have a tough time on the other side." She warned me. "It's one thing to train you on strength, but I can't do anything if you're so gullible." She told me.

I rolled my eyes at her. "It's hard to take someone seriously when they ask if I think they'll kill me 'or something'" I mocked her back.

I suppose that sort of remark did earn me a hit on the head from her, but still, she didn't have to be so relentless about them.

Eventually, we made it down to the steps and I followed Himawari through a forest until we reached a clearing. I looked at her. "Here?" And she nodded. "So, now what?" I asked since we arrived at our destination.

"Now, we wait." She answered as she sat down.

I sat down next to her and looked up at the sky wondering how long it would take for the portal to appear. I couldn't help but muse to myself that demons seemed to have a thing for clearings. It made me think back to the time I found Hiei and Kurama after our first encounter. So much had happened from there. And then it made me a little sad to know that we all had gone our separate ways. I wonder if all of them were doing okay over in the demon world.

It didn't take long for night to fall and once that happened, in the center of the clearing, a portal began to appear.

"There's my way back." Himawari said getting up and heading towards the portal. She turned around to face me. "I can't assure you that you'll be able to come back. Are you sure about this?" She asked me.

I nodded. I was always so back and forth on these things, but for once I was very sure of my decision. "I'm not going to run away." I announced and with that, both of us stepped into the portal.

While we stepped into the portal, once we made it through it was a free fall. I looked up to see the portal closing on the human world and the last thing I saw was the night sky. Looking down, I could see the entrance to demon world at the very end. I turned myself over and made a dive for it, wanting to arrive there as quickly as possible. Himawari followed suit.

Once we made our landing, I quickly stood up and looked around. The scenery was very similar to what I had seen when I was here for Yusuke's fight with Sensui. "We're here." Himawari stated. "First, we need to find someone to train you. While we are supposed to be a secluded race, there are those who have still held onto their connections. I'm sure I could find someone to train you."

"There's no to find anyone to train her." Himawari and I turned around to see a small group assemble from the forest and towards us. Immediately, once they came into full view, Himawari knelt down.

There were a total of five female apparitions. Three seemed to be guides or bodyguards of some sort and stood behind the remaining two. The two who stood in the front eyed me and then back to Himawari.

"Himawari, glad to see you returned safely." The one with long, straight silver hair said to her.

"Yes, we were beginning to get worried." There was one who had scarlet red hair up in a loose bun that now addressed her. Both had maroon eyes and looked at Himawari in surprise that she came back at all. Or maybe it was because she came back with me as they turned their attentions to me.

The one who first addressed Himawari turned to me. "I see…you've brought a guest." She said and eyed me up and down. "My name is, Sayuri. And you are?"

My eyes widened and I felt my entire body tense up. This was her. This was my mother. I never imagined her to be so beautiful…but I suppose that's how she enticed my father in the first place. Then again, the five who were present all seemed to be beautiful in their own way. Even Himawari when I first saw her had a striking look about her. This clan was something. I looked at Himawari who had gotten up and stood by me. I quickly remembered that Himawari would be punished if they knew who I was. I didn't say anything.

"She seems different, does she not, Oka?" The one with silver locks asked the scarlet-haired one. "Don't tell me this is the fabled half-breed you failed to kill, Himawari." She locked her eyes onto Himawari. I turned to her and the girl looked both frightened and confused. I guess she wasn't expecting them to meet up with her like this.

"Yes…I failed. This is Sakura, but-"

"Lady Sayuri." She interrupted and looked at Himawari with contempt. "Do not to forget to address your leader when speaking." She commanded. This woman…I couldn't believe someone like her was my mother and standing before me right now.

Himawari seemed to bite back her lips to refrain from any other action. "Forgive me Lady Sayuri. This is Sakura. She is the half-human, half-syph. I've brought her back upon her request."

"And what request would that be?" Sayuri asked looking at me.

Before Himawari could answer, I stepped in. "My request was to come to demon world to meet and kill you." I answered. My voice didn't seem as confident as I had hoped. But perhaps she did not detect it.

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at me as if summing me up. "Hmph, at this rate you would barely kill an insect in our realm, let alone someone like me. Oh yes, but there is something about you that I would rather enjoy fighting about with. Very well. I suppose I'll honor that request. I'm sure with a bit of training you'll eventually satisfy what I need. Until then, I won't waste my time." She turned her attention back to Himawari.

My eyes had widened trying to process that information. I had honestly expected to be killed on the spot, but here she was offering to train me so that I could try and kill her? But then I remembered Himawari. "I won't let you kill her." I said standing in front of my new friend. Perhaps that was the reason why she was agreeing to the reason I came here.

"Oh, I have no intentions of killing this one. Though, a failure is a failure, and that won't go unpunished." Her eyes lowered at Himawari. "You'll be confined. I hope you see that ruling as just." Himawari nodded and didn't really put up a fight. I just didn't get the hold this woman had on others that Himawari had mentioned. Power? Surely there were enough people who hated her that could outnumber her.

She then turned around and headed into the forest. "I would advise you two to stop wasting my precious time." Her flanks followed as did the woman who was called out to be Oka. This whole set up was very sketchy, but I followed. Mostly because Himawari was being forced into prison and I wanted to make sure she was okay.

A very strange opportunity had presented itself to me, but if she was willing to train me so I could kill her, I'd take it. Obviously she underestimated me and I would make sure she would regret that. I would make her pay for a lot of things.

We made our way through the forest and with every step I took I could feel myself being watched. I wasn't sure if it was from Sayuri or Oka, the ones who followed her or maybe some other apparitions hiding in the trees. Eventually we stopped in a clearing. Of course.

"Shion, show yourself." Sayuri commanded and out of nowhere a petite girl with short blue hair appeared in front of us. "This is Shion, one of our own and the gatekeeper. She has the power to create illusions you see." I narrowed my eyes and watched as this Shion girl waved her hand and a hole in the ground appeared. I watched as Sayuri and the others went down and I had no choice to follow.

Once underground we followed a path until it sloped upwards and eventually I could see light. A hidden tunnel that led to the actual clan? Interesting…

Once we emerged, the scenery had completely changed. There were still hints of the forest around but civilization was apparent as there were buildings everywhere. They weren't skyscrapers like back at home, but it was something to show that demons were not as barbaric as people made them out to be. Sayuri turned to me and held out her hand to gesture to the hidden city. "Welcome to Yoruka." She announced.

Her grand introduction and the largeness of the city did not fit with the overall atmosphere. A place as large as this you'd expect a bit more life out of it. But that was the thing. Looking around, I didn't see many of my kind roaming about. In fact, the number of buildings seemed to greatly outnumber the inhabitants.

I didn't get to observe further when I realized that Himawari was being taken away. "Don't worry about me, Sakura." She said and I felt like even she couldn't believe her words. I turned to Sayuri and glared at her.

She shook her head. "My…you've grown so attached already. I can't tell if you're a fool or not. She won't be harmed. Besides, you have other things to concern yourself with." She then released her energy, and it was quite the display as I could barely stand with her energy pushing on me. She immediately pulled back and then frowned at me. "You have a ways to go." She snapped her finger and two immediately appeared at her side. One female with short bobbed black hair and one male with messy brown hair. "This is Tsubaki and Naoki." She pointed to them respectively. "They'll begin phase one of your training. Do what you see fit. If she survives send her on to the next. If she dies, then so be it." She passed me on to them and left without another word. The others also followed her.

I tightened my hands into fists. She was treating me like I needed to be babysat. I kicked the ground. I needed to get stronger to defeat her. That was made more evident by her power display, but to do it by her instructions…it was a slap to the face. I turned to the two who were supposed to start out. "Can we start immediately?" I asked and the two nodded as they took me away to train.

-x-

For two days straight, I trained relentlessly with Tsubaki and Naoki. The two wouldn't dare let me rest and I would let myself either. I went beyond that when they wanted to call it quits and I wanted to keep going.

"Don't be hasty. The long hours were to build up your endurance." Tsubaki explained. "Now you have to recover for the next leg." She made her weapon disappear.

I huffed in one spot. "I can keep going."

It was then I felt myself being pushed over and I turned my head as I sat on the ground to see Naoki. "Look how easy it was to sneak up on you and just shove you down. I think that's a sign to rest."

I breathed heavily and bit my lip as I had no choice to agree at this point. Naoki then raised an eyebrow at me. "You seem disappointed in yourself that you can't go further. Tell me, why are you so vehement on killing Sayuri." He held out his hand.

I didn't take it as I forced myself to get up with what little energy I had left. "Well then, I'd have to ask you how you can stand by and let someone so heartless rule over all of you." I staggered back to the main city, but stopped when I heard Tsubaki spoke.

"She's strong, but there's more. She holds more over us than an outsider like you could ever know. I say that not to speak down on your status, but there are things you do not know." She tried to explain to me. "We can train you for years, but it won't be enough to stop her. It'd be best to give up."

I had my head down as I listened to her. "At least I'm doing something!" I yelled turning around to face Tsubaki and Naoki. "You're right. It's probably really stupid of me to not run away against someone who is so much stronger than me. But that's just as bad as sitting in one spot and letting things happen. Ever since I got here, I haven't seen a single one of you guys show a damn smile. If you all hate your lives so much, you should do something about it. You all outnumber her." I eyed them and they said nothing. "Fine, leave it to the half-breed. I don't care. I'll die for you guys or whatever. At least I can say I tried." I turned around and started to walk back but fell over. "Dammit…"

I felt myself get hoisted and it was Naoki who helped me up and propped me so that I had someone helping me walk back. "I still think you're going to die, but if you're so set on it, I suppose I should help you walk into it."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Just shut up and take me back."

They guided me towards the temporary house that Sayuri had assigned me while I was here in demon world. However, it was not left alone as when we got closer in front of the door was the scarlet-haired syph from earlier. Oka, if I remembered her name correctly.

"Hmph, I see you can't even make it on your own two feet." She looked down on me. "Naoki, Tsubaki, you two will continue to train her. But I'll be facilitating extra training for her. She has very much a long way to go."

"That's fine. As you can see though, Sakura has reached her limit. That's why we brought her back to rest." Tsubaki explained.

"There will be no rest. See if she feels the same way when she's on her last breath and Sayuri is attacking her relentlessly in the battlefield." Oka said with crossed arms.

Naoki lowered his voice. "I'd be careful with what you say…" He warned.

"Naoki, you are aware Sayuri wants a good fight. I'm only giving it to her." Her straight face for one second showed an image of warmth. Something I wasn't used to seeing while with this clan. "Do not worry." And in an instant it disappeared as she turned to me. "Well?"

I removed myself from Naoki's support and stood up tall, albeit it was painful. "That's fine." I said. In truth, I don't know how much more I could take. I'd probably die. The thought came so easily while I was here.

Oka walked me all the way to the outside of Yoruka. Not too far from the entrance where I first met Shion was a flower field. It was here that Oka said we would continue our training.

She looked at me and then crossed her arms. "Didn't anyone teach you to stand up straight in the presence of teachers?" She lectured me.

"What do you want from me?" I retaliated. "In case you couldn't tell, I'm not the epitome of student model right now!" I reminded her just how battered I got from the last training session.

She walked over and flicked me in the forehead. Even something like that caused me a great deal of pain. "If you have the energy to talk, you have the energy to stand up straight." She then forced me to stand up straight. "Honestly, how were you raised?" She chastised me again.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I scowled at being judged so harshly by this woman.

"Not particularly." She answered despite it being a rhetorical question. "I'm more interested on why you're so intent on killing Sayuri. In fact a lot of them back at Yoruka want to know. A lot of people feel it, but no one dares to voice it. And here comes along a half-breed who so boldly declares in front of her face and among her so called supporters." She then showed me the same look she had given Naoki. "Please, do tell about that."

"I thought you took me here to train, not to ask about my personal life." I replied. The banter with this woman was driving me crazy.

She looked at me and then smiled. "Silly girl, this is part of the training. I need to know the reason why you intend to kill Sayuri." I tilted my head because honestly she was just confusing me more. She then sat down as if we were on a picnic. I didn't have time for this. "Did you know the reason behind killing someone can affect a person's fighting style? There are three reasons to kill someone. You can kill for revenge, in which your fighting style takes on a more offensive approach. Useful for keeping the enemy on their toes, but leaves the person open to any and all attacks. You can kill to protect. In which case you take on a more defensive action and allows them to be more tactful when going in for the kill. You only act when necessary." She looked up at me. "I imagine you would fit into one of these categories."

She finally got my attention and I sat down as well. "What's the third one?" I asked now that she had piqued my interest.

"The third one is the way Sayuri kills. The third reason for killing is to kill for fun. In this method, movements and actions are unpredictable. Always changing and difficult to pinpoint. It matches with the reason for killing which is that there is none. Can you honestly say you're prepared to fight someone like that?" She bore right into me with her stare and words.

I inhaled sharply at the question. When she spoke of the reason why Sayuri killed, I suddenly became very afraid of facing her. Especially at my level. Oka's words cut through the silence when I didn't say anything. "So, will you tell me the reason for wanting to kill Sayuri."

I bit my lip and realized maybe this was the kind of information I had to share. "I guess you could say it's for revenge. My father said he fell in love with her and vice versa, but I know now that it was all one sided. Because when I came into the picture I was a disgrace among her kind and my grandfather felt I was a disgrace among humans. Despite that, my father loved me for all that I was and risked his life to raise me. I say risk because my cowardly mother and my bastard of a grandfather took his life away…because of me." I felt tears on the cusp of falling. "And then I learn not only did she make me lose out on people precious to me, but she's doing the same to her own kind. How could I ever let someone like that continue to live?"

Oka didn't say anything. I'm sure it wasn't her place or perhaps she didn't agree with me.

"And what do you plan to do once you kill your mother?" Oka asked.

"Suddenly you think I can beat her?" I asked drying my tears. I was surprised by the question.

"Answer the question." She demanded.

So it was back to the bantering. "I don't know." I replied just to appease her. It was the truth.

"That's often the problem with killing for revenge. You're left with just another void." She got up and started to head back.

"Hey, what about training?" I asked feeling strange by her words.

"That will do for today. Until you pass with Naoki and Tsubaki, you won't receive any further training from me." She vanished quickly and had no doubt returned back to Yoruka.

I fell on my back in the field of flowers and looked up at the thundering sky of demon world. This always seemed to be the case. I was always being looked down on by these people. Still, she brought up a good point. What would I do after I killed Sayuri. Assuming I could.

-x-

Two weeks passed and training with Naoki and Tsubaki had finally smoothed itself out. In fact, I was actually able to press up against them and make them work together in an effort to stop me. If I were to take them one on one, I actually reached a point where I had my weapon to their neck.

"You've improved a lot, Sakura." Tsubaki commented once my sparring with Naoki ended. "I guess training with Oka helped."

I shook my head. "I didn't really train with her. Just had a talk. Really it's been thanks to the two of you that I've gotten this far." I said as I helped Naoki up. "So thank you!" I bowed to them in gratitude.

Naoki chuckled. "You don't see many doing that, huh, Tsubaki?"

"Sakura is truly unique. In more ways than one." She nodded in agreement with a smile.

I smiled back at the two. Somewhere along the lines through our battles, I formed a bond with these two. Whether it was friendship, I'm not quite sure. Still, they were people I could be around when I wasn't training. It made me rethink that they all hated me from the get go just because I was half human. Still, there were those in Yoruka who chose to keep their distance from me still. I suppose there was still a fine line.

We began to part ways once Naoki said he had some business to take care of. Tsubaki was the one who walked me back to my place. "Hmm…perhaps, I think it would be okay for to come with." She said once we arrived in front of my door. I turned to her and raised an eyebrow to indicate she should elaborate. "Do you want to visit Himawari?" She asked me.

I nodded right away. I only ever heard reports of Himawari's health from Tsubaki. I wasn't able to visit, but I think it's because initially Tsubaki really didn't trust me. I don't blame her since I found out the two were close friends and it was because of me that Himawari was in confinement in the first place. Either way, I was glad it had gotten to a point where she felt I could accompany her to visit. I quickly dropped off my belongings and headed with her to where Himawari was being held.

When I was in front of Himawari's cell, she looked up to see that she had visitors. Her eyes widened when she saw me. "Sakura? No way, you're still alive?" She sounded so surprised.

I placed my hands on my hips and stared at her. "I think, that's the sort of question I should be asking you."

"What, I'm rather safe from Tsubaki here." She said nonchalantly.

"Oh honestly, Himawari." Tsubaki shot back.

And somehow being in a prison area, we all three managed to find a way to laugh about it.

"I'm really glad you brought her Tsubaki. It's good to see her still alive." She smiled at me and it made me feel relieved to know that she could still do that behind bars. "That and I've been wanting to have a word with her." Her tone suddenly became serious.

"What's up?" I asked, almost hesitant. Being behind bars, I can't imagine her knowing too much besides from what Tsubaki would probably tell her during their visits.

"Would you like me to leave?" Tsubaki asked.

Himawari shook her head. "I think it's important you listen too. Though it's probably something that has crossed your mind before." She then turned to me. "Sakura, Tsubaki told me that every once in a while Oka stops by to watch and facilitate your training. No doubt to report back to Sayuri on your progress."

I nodded. "Yeah. Is she spying for Sayuri?" That thought crossed my mind before. The way she watched me, there was something off about it.

Himawari shook her head. "Not in the way you're thinking. She's watching to see how strong you've gotten. There's no doubt about that, but the more I thought about it, it didn't make sense. Why would Sayuri wish to fight you at all? And then it clicked. Sakura, I'm sorry, but there's one thing I left out when it came to our kind."

"Himawari…" Tsubaki started.

"Sakura needs to know. I think we owe it to her for shunning her all these years." Himawari stated firmly. Himawari was truly a friend if she felt that way about me. "There is one more reason why we are called Syphs. Syphs are unique in a way that they can become stronger. When a syph kills their own kind, they absorb half of their power. In your case, I'm going to assume it would only be half of a half. Why do you think Sayuri has gotten so strong?" Himawari asked me.

It took a second to process but I felt like my insides twist when I realized that Sayuri was killing off her own kind. The people who were supposed to be like a family for her.

"Tsubaki told me you once got angry that no one stood up to Sayuri. But that's the reason why. We stay on her good side in order to not be killed. Because if we do, she'll take our power and continue to torment those around her further. We may have numbers, but a few deaths is all she would need to completely turn the tides. I didn't want to mention this to you because it's not something I'd like outsiders to know. It makes us seem ruthless when really, no one but her would wish to kill off one of their own."

Tsubaki placed a hand on my shoulder as a way to try and calm me down. Himawari continued to talk. "You must have noticed how small our numbers are. It's because Sayuri will kill someone every so often because she wants power or to put us in our place. Not only that, but it's because we choose to keep our numbers small so we don't have to lose people precious to us. But with you here, that changes everything."

Tsubaki then nodded. "We think she might be training you in order to kill you so she can absorb your power. Rather than do it right away, she'd much wait for the fruit to ripe."

I couldn't stop shaking. I was so angry. Not only that but I felt such grievance fall over me. It didn't even make sense because these people were almost nothing to me save these two and Naoki. Yet knowing how much they were controlled, how evil a person like Sayuri could exist, I couldn't help but be entirely consumed by hatred for her. What other reason would I ever have besides revenge to kill her? It was more than for abandoning her own daughter, for killing my father, it was for all of the lives she took within this clan and all the lives she planned to take.

But still…the question remained at large, could I take her? If the two were correct, I'd only be contributing to the problem should I fight her. If she killed me, she'd only be stronger and she'd torment them more.

"Sakura, now that you know, we advise you to leave this place." Tsubaki suggested. "Himawari told me you have much to settle with her, but for your own sake and ours, you should leave. I know that sounds selfish and I wish you and I got to know each other on different circumstances, but if it's true…"

I got up and she stopped talking. "You don't need to apologize. None of you have too." I felt tears were rolling down my face. "I don't know why…but I can't live knowing that if any of you were hurt because of me. It sounds silly right? I just met you…so why…?"

"My…my…what a crowd in such a small, damp, dark space." The three of us turned around and I felt myself inhale sharply to see Sayuri. How long was she there and how much had she heard? Her pointing out cramped the place was only made me think it'd be that much harder for Himawari and Tsubaki to run away. "I've been looking for you Sakura. I just got a progress report on you and I'm rather quite pleased. You've done well Tsubaki." She turned to Tsubaki who promptly kneeled to her. "I suppose that brings us to the next part of your training. I was going to tell you somewhere more, formal, but I heard you decided to pay our dear little traitor a visit." Even Himawari had kneeled from her cell.

"What do you want me to do?" I said through gritted teeth. This mix of fear and anger. A mother shouldn't cause these kinds of feelings.

"If you can complete this task, I'll make sure that we have the fight you wish for." Sayuri started.

"And if I fail?" I asked.

"It's your life." Sayuri stated simply. I didn't say anything and she took that as a sign to continue. "I will fight you under the conditions that you kill Naoki."

Tsubaki stood up immediately. "How could you-"

She was met with a sharp blow and crashed into a wall. Sayuri had sidestepped in to hit her and back to her original spot with such speed. "Know your place."

I wanted to run over to Tsubaki's side but using her impressive speed, she stepped in between the two of us. "I hope you can last a bit longer than that." She sneered at Tsubaki. "I look forward to seeing a mangled body. Whether it be yours or his." She laughed and quickly left.

I ran over to Tsubaki and quickly fell to my knees. "Sakura, is she alright?" Himawari yelled from her cell. Tsubaki was badly hurt, but alive. I just couldn't bring myself to say anything.

When night fell and I composed myself, I had healed Tsubaki the best I could and promised Himawari that I would make sure Tsubaki would return safely. I carried her back to her home.

Once she was resting in bed, I made my way back. Not to my place, but rather in the direction to where I had first entered demon world. I had to return back to the human world.

I wouldn't, couldn't kill Naoki. I couldn't let the girls be any more afraid. I couldn't let myself be further exposed to the so many emotions this Sayuri was creating in me.

_Are you just going to run away?_

Even when he wasn't here, Hiei's voice was still around to taunt me. Hiei…more than anything I wish he were here. Not to protect me…but to just stay by my side. The loneliness I felt so very long ago was beginning to creep back and I knew I couldn't stay in this place any longer.

I made it to the entrance and was relieved that Shion didn't try to stop me. In fact, she only gave me a nod as if a way to tell me it was 'okay' that I was being a coward. Of course it was only myself who thought I was such a coward. I'm sure the others felt it was right for me to leave in terms of protecting themselves.

Turning around in the clearing, I tried my best to remember where we had entered from. I spun in full circle and instead of meeting Shion, my eyes met with a mirrored image of maroon eyes and focusing out, I could see it was Naoki. "Going somewhere?" He asked.

"Naoki…I have to leave." I said. I wonder if he knew that Sayuri wanted me to kill him.

He nodded. "I understand." I wanted to relax but when he summoned his own weapon, a spear, and pointed it at me, I realized that he too had been told of what was to happen. "I just can't let you."

"Naoki, please, I don't want to fight or kill you." I started and immediately held out my hand and summoned my weapon to block his fast and above strike at me.

"You won't have to, Sakura. I'm sorry it's come to this, but I can't let you live." And he rushed in for the attack again.

It wasn't a matter of wanting to live, it was a matter of not wanting to hurt others any more. When would it ever stop?

-x-

A/N: I'm so glad to have finished this chapter and start up this story to have it back running again. I hope you guys enjoyed and please leave a review! Let's me know people are still willing and wanting to read this! Until next time!


	21. Mother

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

-x-

I was pushed backwards with my heels digging into the ground just from the shockwave of blocking Naoki's attack. I didn't want to imagine what would have happened if I hadn't dodged. Not that there was time considering Naoki was taking this fight very seriously. I couldn't understand why. I feel like no one here liked Sayuri, and to me, I thought Naoki and I were getting along.

I dodged more attacks. "Stop!" I shouted. I didn't want to fight back. In fact, after what Himawari told me of how Syphs could gain power, I was scared too. To think that even in my own half-blood I was capable of that, it just felt wrong. "Please, at least tell me what reason you have for listening to Sayuri." He moved around at fast speeds. "Listen to me!" I yelled as I let out a barrier surge to surround me and as I hoped it made contact with him.

The electricity left him stunned for a few moments, and it's then that he decided to answer me. "You can't help, Sakura." He started. "Your idea of getting rid of Sayuri is noble but at the same time it's nothing but a dream."

"That's fine." I told him. "It's okay that I had a stupid dream. I won't impose it on any of you anymore. I was going to leave Naoki. We don't have to fight. You can still live and I'll make myself disappear." I tried reasoning with him.

"You don't understand anything. It doesn't matter if you ran away, when Sayuri wants blood there will be blood. If you're not killed, it's my mother's life that she'll take next." He screamed at me and with that he had the energy to recover himself from the paralysis and charge at me again.

I felt my mind going into a dark space of its over the idea that it would be my fault for everything whether I lived or not. There was no escape from this. I had to face things head on. I could only think of one way and that's perhaps why in that moment before Naoki attacked, I saw black and heard the sound of thunder.

Again, before me was the harbinger of storms. The summon who thought me worthy enough to use it's power.

"Once again you have no intention to kill. You want me to subdue that boy?" It asked me.

I nodded. "But I know that's not in your nature. Thunder and lightning are quick and to the point. You don't really want to kill but often it's the quickest way of dealing with something." I replied.

"So you do have a brain about you. And all this time your rash in summoning me was not just out of fun." He taunted me. "If you understand then you realize, I cannot subdue the boy for you."

I nodded again. "That's why I intend to control you in a way that lets my actions conquer." The wolf composed of electricity looked at me inquisitively. "I saw it happen once. A summon being completely absorbed. Come at me. I'll do the same to you!"

"You absorb me? Do not be foolish girl. You're intriguing but any attempt to do that will on your part destroy you. Whatever friend you speak of was truly someone remarkable. You on the other hand have no such power." It stated flatly.

It was right. Hiei was truly amazing, but I refused to think that I could never be on his level. It's that sort of thought that got me into this mess in the first place. "Try me."

"Enough. If you don't give me blood to shed, I'll just take yours." It came at me just like I wanted, but with the intention to kill not to be absorbed. I stood my ground.

When it hit I felt myself coursing with electrical currents that felt natural but at the same time, it was the worst pain I had ever felt in my life. It was an internal struggle.

Naoki who had expected me to not move as I was in a daze state during that exchange, was pushed back out of nowhere by the electricity that came from me. Perhaps I had chosen a bad time to attempt this absorption. Not only was I facing Naoki but also the summon. Though as long as the summon kept thrashing about and caused me to radiate electricity Naoki would be kept at bay.

I was screaming out in pain. I couldn't absorb it. There was no way. I was foolish to think that I could. I looked at Naoki who had regained himself and was charging again. I didn't need to absorb it fully. Just control it for a fraction of a second to send it towards Naoki to knock him out and that fight would end.

I concentrated. It was just so damn hard as I felt myself wanting to end this pain. It was excruciating to lift my hand and have my palm face Naoki so I could hit him. The electricity had caused all sorts of burns and cuts on me at this point and with every bit of my energy I took hold of the situation and shot an electrical blast that was the power of the summon at Naoki.

Despite still being electrocuted, I felt relieved that it worked. This relief was short lived as the pain in my body subsided and I saw the summon had stopped trying to kill me and make its to the blast so it could use it's full power to kill Naoki with the blast. I was subdued by the pain it had caused prior that I couldn't even tell Naoki to move out of the way.

With Naoki charging straight for it, there was no way he would leave with his life. Or so I thought.

In a flash, a silhouette appeared and pushed Naoki out of the way and was struck down by the summon in the moment after. I watched as they fell and they didn't get up. In fact, none of us got up. Naoki but it seemed like he passed out. The pain from earlier had led me to black out.

-x-

I felt numb but bit by bit I felt like each part of my body was slowly waking up and it felt nice. It was warm and comforting to know I could feel and maybe it was a sign that I was alive. My eyes slowly fluttered open when I realized that there was feeling in them again and I was met with Oka's maroon eyes.

She helped me up and I could see that she had been healing me. No wonder I felt so warm. Then I fully saw the situation and looked at her confused. She looked even more damaged than me yet it didn't even look like she had tried to heal herself. "It was you. You stepped in and-" I looked around frantically and saw Naoki who was still passed out.

She shushed me. "To see you two fight is something I never want to happen again. Naoki is a bit of attached so the only way to stop him was to render him useless. I of course let him knew that before I took him out and take that blow. I had no idea you could be so strong." She smiled weakly. The power I wielded for just a split second. It could do this? From what I understand Oka was probably the strongest after Sayuri.

My eyes then widened. "You're Naoki's mother?" I asked. I tried to use what little energy I had left to try and heal her. "What are you doing? Stop healing me. Heal yourself." I told her.

She chuckled and I noticed she had coughed a bit of blood from the result. "I can't allow that."

I looked at her in shock. "Naoki was only fighting so hard because he wanted to keep you alive. If he wakes up and finds you're dead that won't benefit anyone!" I explained. I wanted to stop her but even with her healing, I was still too injured to move.

"Naoki knew from the very start that I was going to die. He had only hoped that maybe he could have prevented it, but it's hard when you have already planned out your own death." She explained.

My eyes widened. "But why…?"

"You're always asking questions, Sakura. Don't you realize there's no time for that? I need you to be a good girl like you've always been. Once I'm gone, I need you to take care of your brother. He's had to grow up so fast that you're probably going to be more like an older sister."

I felt tense. She had called Naoki my brother and she was his mother. "No…no! You're lying!" I shouted at her.

She coughed out more blood and despite the anger I expected myself to feel towards her, I was concerned. "It would appear my time is short. I'll do my best to try and tell you everything." I hated that I couldn't move. I wanted to run away. I didn't want to hear whatever she was going to tell me, but I had no choice.

"After I was forced to kill Naoki's father, I told myself I wouldn't go through something like that ever again. It was when I was trafficked into the human world that things changed. I met your father who not only helped me escape but also returned my feelings for him. How odd it was to feel that way for a human. The moment I had you, I cut off all times with him for fear that I'd have to take his life. It wasn't long before Sayuri found out that you were half human and ordered me to kill you. I convinced her it was best to do it in human world as even your corpse would be a disgrace to our world. And she believed me. In reality I went back to the human world and left you with your father. The way he loved me, I know he could do the same for you. And to hear that that was the truth from you, you don't know how happy I was." Her eyes were brimming with tears but it was a result from a mixture of both sadness and happiness.

It made my eyes do the same and, I just couldn't understand it. "I figured it was best to leave you two because if Sayuri found out surely you'd both be dead. And I was right. When she found out, she made a deal with your grandfather to take yours and your father's life as a means to punish me in a way worse than death. It's true she took his life but in no ways will she ever be your mother, Sakura." She looked at me with the same look I had first seen her given Naoki. And it made sense now. It was the look a mother gave to their child and it was a look that I was now receiving. "You've grown up into such a strong, young lady. And you seem to know what it's like to care for others. A trait we seem to share."

"Why?" I whispered at her. I felt myself wanting to cry more. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? Why didn't anyone telling me anything? I carried all this hatred for nothing!" I shouted at her.

"I can only apologize to you. I've been a horrible mother. I wasn't there for you and now I won't be there for Naoki." She was on her last breath.

"Let me heal you. Make it all up…for Naoki." I said as an excuse. In truth this woman who was my real mother…this woman who said she actually loved both my father and me…I didn't want to lose her. I was upset that I had been blindly raging at her for the all wrong reasons, but I know that if I lost her, I would be more upset. "I can heal you. In fact the three of us can just leave and go to the human world. There's some great healers there-"

I felt myself pulled in an embrace. "Hmm…I wish I could've done this as your mother more often. Now it seems rather silly at your age." She let go and then looked at me. "There's one more thing you need to know. Sakura, summon your weapon."

I couldn't move but the ability to summon my weapon was still intact. I had to know whatever pieces I had been missing out on my life. She held my hand with the weapon and lifted it up for me.

To my horror, rather than give me information, she took it and stabbed herself with it. "There…now there is no question that you took my life. With this, you will have my power…and not Sayuri…please…do good with it. I'm sorry…this was all I could ever give to you…" She turned to Naoki and back to me. "I love you both…" Her body collapsed and her eyes closed.

"No…no…no!" I shouted in between sobs. "Get up. You're stronger than this. I know you are." I sobbed and sobbed as I still couldn't move. "What's Naoki going to do when he gets up? What about me? How could you just tell me those things and leave me again? Mother!" For the first time I addressed her as such and accepted it without any hatred and all the while I was mourning.

In time I felt myself being able to move but it wasn't due to recovery. I could feel the power from her that I absorbed coursing through me. It's what allowed me to make a faster recovery. Even if it was only a quarter like Himawari guessed it would be, it still felt like a punch. She was so strong. She should have just killed me and beat Sayuri. What good was it to have a daughter who hated you most of her life alive.

I slowly got up and went over to Naoki and tried to get him to wake up. "Please…still be alive." I don't think I could handle losing anyone else. I didn't have to worry about it as he eventually did wake up and the first thing he did was produce tears. I'm sure he could feel my energy levels be different from before and seeing the body of his…our mother only confirmed it.

He stood in front of her body and didn't say a word. I fell to my knees by his side. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…I'm so sorry, Naoki."

"I don't have a lot of strength in me. I'll need your help in burying her. If you're truly sorry then you can offer her a proper send off."

We buried her and being in a flower field it was easy to find flowers to place in front of her grave.

Naoki then turned to me and there was still sadness in his eyes. "The day she talked to you after we were done training, she said she was sad to know you had harbored such deep feelings within you towards Sayuri. She then told me everything. I don't think you realize how much it was to take in that you were my sister. And then as we trained, it seemed to make sense that you and I were siblings. But then it came to take your life or my…sorry, our mother's and it just made sense to take yours because I met you. But it was her plan all along to have us both live. She would have wanted us to get to know one another and be what little of a family we have left…" He turned to me.

"I won't lie when I say that I don't know how to feel that you're still alive and she's not…but please don't think of it as me hating you. It'll just take some time to adjust…"

I bit my lip to try and hold back the tears that I thought had finally stopped. I knew what it was like to have a father. I knew what it was like to have a mother even if it was one brief moment in the form of an embrace. And all of that was taken from me. I can't imagine knowing what it'd be like to have a brother and have that be taken away from me. For Naoki's sake, I had to make sure that somehow we could both be alive after all of this.

"Why me?" I finally asked. "She could have given it to you, her power. I doubt you'd be willing to kill her, but why me?"

"I ask myself that a lot. But in a way it makes sense. I who have gotten to spend all my life with her, I don't need a remaining remnant of her. I suppose her power was a way to make it up to you, and I can honor that." He was truly correct in feeling no ill will towards me.

"Naoki, let's go back." He seemed surprised by my words. "I won't run away anymore. I've told myself that in the past, but this time I mean it. I want to protect you, I want to protect this power that was given by our mother." It got easier saying it each time. "I want to protect everyone in the clan. I thought if I left that I could protect you guys like that, but I was wrong. Let's go back. Let's go home." I told him.

The two of us had one last silent moment before we headed back.

Being early morning now, we expected it to be quiet but it seemed like everyone was frantic. A completely different atmosphere. Among the small frenzy, I saw Sayuri and called her out immediately in front of everyone. I wanted them to know I wanted to be there for them.

"Both of you are alive?" She asked with disdain and surprise.

"That's right. But we still lost someone. In fact, we've lost a lot of people." I said standing my ground in front of the tyrant.

"No…that damn Oka…what a traitorous bitch." She said eyes glowering once she realized what happened.

"The only traitor around here is you. For what you've done to everyone, I can't let this go on. For the sake of the clan, I demand to fight with you."

Sayuri then laughed at me. She didn't take me seriously. "You fool, there's no clan to protect if the world doesn't settle down. Tell me, were you two so foolish with your wasted tears that you didn't realize a great power has left?"

Naoki made a step forward but I stopped him. Any rash movement, and I could lose him too. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Raizen is dead. He's the one who allowed us to develop our clan within a portion of his territory. Had we tried in any of the other kings, we would have been denied and wiped out. News is that there is a new king to the territory and who knows if he will allow us such privileges or can even prevent the other kings from taking this land over. I don't need to kill you off, this world will do it of it's own accord."

The words 'Raizen' and 'new king' clicked in my head. "Fine. If that's what's preventing our fight, then let me go negotiate with this new king for the placement of our clan to remain. If that works, then we can fight and whoever is the victor shall face the wrath of the other kings in due time." I offered to her.

She laughed. "So I'll have to grovel to Mukuro or Yomi on my own. That's fine. I'd love to face you after you negotiate with this new king. Fine, then go forth and do so." She turned her back and made her way back to her own place.

I watched her leave until she was nowhere and then I looked around to spot Renge. Renge was one I had met momentarily but Tsubaki had explained to me she was the one who had the gift to identify whether or not a person was lying or something to that extent with her powers.

I ran immediately over to her. "Renge, please, answer me this. Did Sayuri sending me off as the messenger have to do with her thinking I'll die in the process?"

Renge brushed aside her long red hair. "That would be correct." She answered me.

"Why are you smiling over that?" Naoki asked me.

I turned to Naoki. "Oh you know…something happy coming along right after dealing with what we just went through…it's a reason to smile." I said not wanting to give anything away in the event that Sayuri would catch wind.

Naoki looked at me perplexed. "Look, never mind." I told him. "In any case, I have to go play the role of messenger now. I know I said I wouldn't run away and what not but trust me when I say I still plan to take care of Sayuri. I just want to make sure that everyone here is protected first and feel protected. If the word of the new king is what it takes, then so be it."

"I'm glad you feel our protection comes first." The two of us turned around my eyes widened with joy to see it was Himawari who had said that to me.

I ran over to her and Tsubaki who looked like she was on her way to a full recovery. "In the midst of Raizen dying, there's not really any rules to be said about keeping a prisoner locked up." Himawari said and winked at me. She looked back and forth at me and Naoki. "You both look like you've been through hell…and given the circumstances I may be right."

Naoki and I looked at each other for a quick second and shook our heads and decided to not dwell on that matter anymore. What's done was done.

"Sakura," Tsubaki then addressed me. "I don't know where you and Naoki have gone, but during your absence Himawari and I have had some time to talk as I recovered. We will both accompany you to see this new king. Should he turn on you we'll protect you. But it's also to assure you're alive for one more thing. When we return, we've decided a full scale rebellion will take place against Sayuri. And with that, we want you to be the new leader."

I took a step back not expecting that proposal.

"Yes, ever since you got here, it seems all of us have grown on you. In fact being a complete outsider you have treated us more like family than Sayuri who has lived with us has ever had." Himawari stated. "And given that I feel like you've gotten stronger and Oka doesn't seem to be here, it only makes sense that someone strong and kind-hearted lead us on."

"You guys…I can't lead a whole entire clan. I don't even know if I can survive against Sayuri. I will try, but I can't promise you anything." It wasn't Sayuri who worried me, it was leading all of them.

"I'm coming with." Naoki stated. That's all he seemed to get from that exchange. "I'd like to be able to protect my sister and the future leader." He said putting a hand on my shoulder.

The mention of the word sister raised a flag and it was evident on both of the girl's faces.

"I'm sure the two of you will have time to explain to us on the way to visit Raizen's heir. But for now, just think about it, okay Sakura?" Himawari asked.

I nodded and the four of us made our way to the exit of Yoruka and to Raizen's castle.

-x-

A/N: A lot of emotions in writing this chapter. But Raizen's heir ay? Hehe…guess we will look into the next chapter! Please leave a review! It gives me a signal boost that people are still reading this and what not. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	22. Negotiations

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: Thanks for all the review guys! Here is the next chapter in the Three Kings saga!

-x-

"Sakura, be advised. Raizen was rather complacent when dealing with us, as long as his appetite wasn't an issue at the time. Who knows what his heir could be like." Himawari warned me.

"Yes, it's best to tread carefully once we get closer to the castle. There's no doubt his followers will try to stop us given the circumstances of what has just happened." Tsubaki joined in.

"Don't worry about it guys. I was sent to be the liaison, and the liaison I will be." I reassured them. If the heir was who I thought it would be, there was no need for concern.

"Hmph, you may be more like our mother than I thought," Naoki mused. "You can't seem to take things seriously until the situations turn dire." It seemed something negative but he had a smirk about him.

"Hey…will you tell me more about her, when there's time?" I asked him. He looked at me for a second and nodded. We had briefly told Himawari and Tsubaki the situation and they were just as surprised as we were that we were half siblings.

Still, despite all of the information at hand, all three took it to delegate the Raizen heir conference to be the most important matter and left it at that.

Just as Naoki had predicted, as soon as we were in the courtyard vicinity, demons surrounded us. These guys were no doubt the followers of Raizen. All had shaved heads and wore the same garbs.

"Stop. What brings you here?" One addressed us.

I stepped in front of the group to show that I was the one leading them. "We've come here as representatives for Yoruka. We wish to speak on matters dealing with our clan and your new king." I replied.

One looked at me to size me up. "You're not like the others. How do we know? Only Sayuri has ever come to negotiate or talk of any matters." The group started to close a few gaps around us.

"It's already looking bad…" Naoki whispered under his breath.

"Yes, usually, but she's sent me this time around." I said back standing my ground.

"There is no time to see the heir of Raizen. There are much preparations to be made and that includes screening those who can see him. It would bring about unfortunate consequences should you be after the head of our new king." Another warned. Again, gaps were closing in.

"Perhaps we should fall back for now…" Tsubaki suggested.

"I've got this guys." I hissed at them. I returned my attention back to followers. "I came here with a mission. I intend to see it fully carried out. Your heir can't be someone who has his head so high up his ass that he'd be unwilling to see us." I already knew who it was but the others didn't and they all were probably glaring at me because I caused the followers of Raizen to spike up their energy levels.

"Turn back now with your lives while we are offering now. This is your last warning." He readied himself to launch an attack.

"Oh brother…fine, have it your way." I placed my fingers to my lips and whistled extremely loudly hoping this would get the attention of the heir. Sure enough, given that I had more power now, it was much louder and more annoying causing everyone around me to protect their ears.

Once the sound subsided everyone looked very much annoyed at me and the followers of Raizen and his new heir all began to charge in for a fight.

"Hey! What the hell is with all this ruckus? I thought you guys were going to make it easy for me." A familiar voice called out and all of the followers released their building energy and turned to their new leader.

"Apologies, my king. It seems we have very persistent intruders. We will gladly dispose of them for you quickly." One said bowing down to boy wonder.

He was still making his way over but the outline of his slicked back hair and cocky attitude could be seen from where I stood. "Like hell you will." I said as I ran past them and towards the new king. "Yusuke!" I shouted out rushing up to him and swung my arms around him in a hug.

He was caught off guard but caught my hug and returned it. When we released he still had a confused but rather happy look on his face and everyone behind us looked rather confused. "You made it out here after all? Jeez, it's been a while half-breed. Sakura, you haven't grown at all!" Yusuke said with a laugh.

I crossed my arms and pouted at the height joke. "Oh, I'm sorry we can't all become rulers like you and sprout an inch or two while we're at it." I shot back remarking the change Yusuke had about him. Not just physically but among other things.

He pulled my head in and proceeded to mess with my hair with his hands balled up into a fist. I struggled but I couldn't help but laugh. It was so wonderful to see someone familiar.

"Hey, so were these guys giving you trouble?" Yusuke asked when he let me go.

I nodded. "Yeah but it was nothing I couldn't handle." I said with a thumbs up.

"Hardly, you could have gotten us killed had the king not stepped out himself." Naoki chastised me as he walked up with the girls who were all accompanied by Yusuke's followers.

"Oh look you made more friends." Yusuke pointed out.

I nodded and turned to face them. "Naoki, Himawari, Tsubaki, this is Raizen's heir and former spirit detective of the human world. More importantly he is a dear friend of mine. Meet wonder boy, Yusuke Urameshi."

"Damn, now that's an intro." Yusuke said giving a wave to them.

"Oh, you're that human who was in the dark tournament!" Himawari remarked. "Yes, we heard about you from the weaker apparitions that managed to filter their way back here. So he's Raizen's heir? And you know him Sakura?" I nodded proudly.

"Well if we're going to keep up with the compliments and reunions we should probably head inside." He turned to the rest of them. "These guys are my guests so don't be giving them trouble, got it?" He said.

"Of course, my king." They all nodded and proceeded to disperse as our group followed Yusuke into the castle.

"Excuse me for cutting to the chase, but what exactly are you here for, Sakura?" He asked me. "Also why are you even in demon world in the first place?"

I let out a sigh. "That's a long story, Yusuke. Do you even have the time being a new king and all?"

"Barely. It's not that great of a title. For now, I've got to go meet up with Yomi tomorrow." He mentioned as he showed us inside.

"Yomi? You're going to the other territory?" Tsubaki questioned.

"Well yeah, with demon world all in a ruckus, I guess I gotta do something being Raizen's heir." Yusuke said nonchalantly. The others looked rather skeptical but this was nothing new when dealing with Yusuke.

"Understood, I'll keep it short then." I explained to him.

"Well you can probably give me a bit more detail if you don't mind helping me out with a secret project I've got going on. As for you guys," He turned to my friends and brother. "You all look like Kuwabara after I did him in. Go ahead and take a rest." He suggested.

Tsubaki bowed and thanked Yusuke and the others followed the same. Even if he was my friend they still regarded him as they would a leader of a nation and each of them departed to a room to heal and rest up.

Yusuke led me into a room that had a rather grand chest in it and he went up and opened it to reveal a multitude of color stones. "Right, so we should get to carving some names into these things before I head out tomorrow. Mind lending a hand?" He asked as he sat down and grabbed a chiseling tool.

"Not at all, but what is this far?" I said sitting opposite of him near the chest.

"Just a little something of a gift." He said with a smile.

I smirked at him. "It's so rare of you to have a plan in advance." I knew he was up to something but he wanted it to be a surprise.

"Call it a benefit with the title." He laughed and I joined in. "So, what's your story?" He asked upfront once the laughs subsided.

I let out a sigh. "Where should I even begin?" I said grabbing another stone and carved out the names of some of his followers he had listed to me.

I saw no reason to hide anything from him, so I told him everything. I told him how Himawari had been sent to kill me but had a change of heart and brought me to demon world. I told him of how I was tricked into believing Sayuri was my mother and her intent to kill me was to absorb my power. I told him the training I went through with Tsubaki and Naoki and how it was to be completed with me killing my own brother. I told him how I lost control and the two of us were saved by my real mother who had me kill her so she could pass on her own power. It all led up to me being here in order to assure that the clan would be safe under his rule.

"Damn…that's pretty rough." He told me as he continued to carve. "If I wanted to remain a king here, I'd say that your clan's protection would be no problem. But come on, can you honestly see me being a ruler?" I laughed and shook my head. "My point exactly. I'm not cut out for it. Maybe someday, but not now. That's why I gotta go talk to Yomi. He's probably a bigger threat at the moment then Mukuro." He mentioned.

"Can I come with?" I asked. "To Yomi's territory that is. It'd be nice to see Kurama. Plus, if you're negotiating with Yomi, perhaps there's something I can say for my clan too." I reasoned.

"Your clan? Seems like you're fitting pretty well among them." He said sounding pleased with how far I had come.

"Maybe." I said with a small smile. "I can't let them keep leading their lives the way they have been. I want them all to be happy. They want me to take over if I manage to defeat Sayuri, but I don't think I can take on something like that. Now I see how you feel." I chuckled. "But wanting the best for them, I think that's the right thing to do right now." I said referring to the both us.

I looked at the chest to see it was still half full. "Looks like we still have a ways to go. So what's your story?" I asked wanting to know what he had been up to since he arrived. He told me of his training and meeting with his ancestor, Raizen. He learned of how he came to be and how Raizen had changed habits because of that one human being. It really made me think the affect a person could have on another. And so, after that, we spent the night carving stones and reminiscing about the times before things became so muddled with demon world politics.

-x-

The next day, after very much convincing, Tsubaki, Himawari and Naoki allowed just Yusuke, me and Yusuke's guard, Hokushin to head to Yomi's territory. It didn't make sense for so many to head over there. It would seem hostile. Plus in the event that something happened at Yoruka, they'd be able to return much quicker if they were nearby.

Hokushin was more of an escort as he guided us to where Yomi's territory was. While we did it on foot, it wasn't a far trek.

"The edge of Gandara. The land of Yomi's." Hokushin announced when we made our way to a cliff that overlooked a city in the distance with forests surrounding it. To be honest, it didn't look that different from Raizen's territory. I had been expecting more of a scenic change.

"Thanks for the escort. Be careful on your way back home." Yusuke said.

Hokushin turned to him with a surprised look on his face. "What? I can't go back. By now Yomi surely is aware of our king's death and as his offspring as soon as you'll be set off in Gandara. Friend or not, I do not trust someone like Miss Sakura to protect you either."

I huffed at being shorted but Yusuke merely dismissed Hokushin. "Well duh! Why do you think I want to go in alone?" He reassured. "Plus, Sakura can handle herself." He defended me.

"As the heir to the throne, you no longer represent yourself, and I've sworn to protect my lands new king." Hokushin stated.

"Fine you can tag along." Yusuke gave in.

Hokushin's words about Yusuke's actions no longer affecting just him left quite an impression on me. In that moment I thought back to the proposal I had been given by the three back at Raizen's castle.

"But let me talk okay? We want to sound as diplomatic as we can on this." Yusuke condition.

I raised an eyebrow at him and smiled. "Wow, you really are taking these kingly duties seriously." I teased.

"Perfect time to say that my king." Hokushin seemed rather proud of Yusuke.

"And why is that?" Yusuke questioned.

"We should be careful with what we say from here on. When Yomi lost his sight. He strengthened his other senses. It has been said many times that lord Yomi can hear every word uttered in his dominion." Hokushion explained.

I nodded. "Seems simple enough." I said. After all, I only had small scale negotiations.

"Really is that so?" Yusuke said with a simple nod. Glad he seemed to agree. "YOMI, YOU SON OF A BIIIIIIIITCH! YOU HEAR ME? I'M COMING SO BOIL UP A KETTLE OF TEAAAAAAA!" Yusuke shouted out into the abyss. "Heard that?"

"Quite diplomatic sir…" Hokushin said probably not knowing what else to say.

"Yusuke…I hope you realize that the others were counting on me to come back alive." I lectured on the idiot move he had just pulled. Still, it was Yusuke so it was rather hard to actually be upset.

Yusuke paid no attention to our remarks as he began to march straight to Yomi's, but Hokushin stopped him to ask what was in the bag.

"In this?" He held up.

"Yes, somehow I have a bad feeling about it." He voiced his concerns.

"Tch, you worry too much." Was Yusuke's reply before he plummeted down the cliff.

I had a feeling what was in the bag, but tough to say for Yusuke. I headed towards the edge and turned to Hokushin feeling a bit sorry for him. "Honestly, if things work out and he really does become your sole king, you'll get used to his antics soon enough." I chuckled and followed Yusuke down and so did Hokushin.

As we walked through the forests of Yomi's territory, I couldn't help but feel like we were being watched. It was something a bit eerie and somehow familiar at once. The eeriness no doubt came from followers of Yomi who were probably watching us as we made our way to his abode. Some weren't doing too well at hiding themselves, or perhaps they wanted to be known.

But the familiarity I was getting…none of that came from nearby. In fact it almost felt far off in the distance.

"Hey, you're falling behind half-breed!" Yusuke called out and I had looked up to see that where he stood ahead of me, the outline of the city could be seen. I made my way over there and from that point on, it was a mere few miles to reach Yomi.

It wasn't hard to find the entrance as guards lined up creating a path to Yomi's house. Not to mention his house, even if it was the outer gates resembled those of Genkai's temple. It looked so out of place compared to the bleak city look that surrounded us. The demon world was really different.

Still none of this mattered to Yusuke as he boldly marched his way through the path. Things seemed normal up until we saw a small, older looking demon emerge from the line of shoulders. He held out a device and pointed it at Yusuke and we all watched him very carefully. He didn't attempt anything but even after walking pass and seeing the look of surprise on him, we remained ever watching until we were well past.

We were escorted to a small room and we all sat down as we waited for Yomi to arrive. It didn't take long for the lattice doors to slide open and reveal a demon with closed eyes. Yomi, most likely. He walked over with no problem and sat down in front of us.

A female demon knelt down by Yusuke and placed a cup in front of him. "I present your tea sir." She announced and Yusuke looked surprised.

"I guess you do have good ears." He looked down at his cup of tea and I felt that it was a waste as he most likely would not drink it.

The older demon from before stepped into the room and walked over to Yomi. The two exchanged hushed glances before he left. I felt really out of place among all this, but given Yusuke's serious demeanor, it was probably best to let him take the reins on this.

"So why have you come to see me?" Yomi finally addressed us. "And please be direct. I haven't the time or patience to waste beating around the bush."

"Well, Raizen is dead now, and you know as the new king on the block, I thought it'd only be fair for me to tell you in person exactly how I'm going to rip you off your throne." Yusuke said with no hesitation.

I feel like my outfit was getting drenched from the sweat of anxiety. And Yusuke's remark was certainly no deodorant. I guess at this point, I should prepare a speech to everyone back at Yoruka as to why we'd all be dead in a matter of moments.

"Alright, in the interest of full disclosure, let me show you how I plan to stop you." Yomi announced and he began to glow to show off his energy.

And then again I felt I was being watched. I glanced quickly to Yomi, to the screen doors that surrounded us, and the exit of the room. I couldn't quite pinpoint it at all. It was if it was from all directions. This looked bad.

Yusuke didn't seem fazed as he placed the large bag on the table before Yomi. "That's cool, but first I got something for ya." His easy attitude seemed to diffuse the tension that he himself had created just a second ago. "We'll call it a gift." He phrased as he pushed it closer to Yomi.

"How thoughtful of you. Would you mind unwrapping it too?" Yomi asked. "I'm afraid I can't see things as well as I used to."

"Sure, now they might scatter a bit, so I hope you don't mind." Yusuke said opening the bag and sure enough things did scatter. Round colored jewels fell out of the bag and the loose ones on the edge rolled off the table onto the floor.

I nodded to myself. So it was the very same pearl like objects Yusuke had asked me to help with the night before. Not sure what they were but as Hokushin freaked out that Yusuke was giving away a national treasure, I bit my lip wondering how he'd feel if he knew what we had done to them.

"I thank you Mr. Urameshi, for the most generous of gifts." Yomi took one off of the table and felt it and voiced that it was indeed a real artifact. "But what is your true purpose and offer?" He asked. Yusuke didn't get a chance to speak as Yomi then noticed the carving on the stone he had picked up. "There's something carved in this stone. It says 'Mukuro'" He then proceeded to list a few names that were on the other stones. "You engraved names on all of these stones?"

"Yeah, I thought it'd be easier to paint them on, but this way you could read them yourself." Yusuke explained. It was really surprising to see Yusuke think so far ahead. Not so surprising when Hokushin freaked out about us defiling the stones.

"Look, I'm not a particularly bright guy." Yusuke started ignoring Hokushin's panic. "Just because I'm Raizen's heir, doesn't mean I'm qualified to replace him. So maybe it's time to find a new way of crowning the big cheese around here. Each of these has the name of someone from demon world on it. We'll all face off in a big tournament, not representing kingdoms, but ourselves." Finally the master plan was revealed.

I smiled to myself. Yusuke was truly amazing. "And the one who wins the tournament, will be the one to rule us all. For a period of time at least until the next tournament where we do it all over again. From what I understood in social studies, it's called democracy and it's all the rage back home."

My smile grew bigger as I nodded to myself. In this way, there was no need to concern my clans worries with Yomi or Mukuro. With Yusuke's idea we all had a chance to perhaps bring balance to demon world as well as out Sayuri. "Except, we'll cast our votes with fists." Yusuke concluded. "What do you say big guy?"

"Do you honestly think I or anyone else would go along with this?" Yomi asked.

I was ready to be the first to side with Yusuke but I was beaten to the punch as a sliding door had opened and a familiar voice echoing from the other side. "Sign me up so I say!" and Yusuke jumped up in with a laugh to see it was Jin from the Dark Tournament. I was right, we were being watched, but by friendly presences.

"What are you guys doing here?" Yusuke greeted not only Jin, but Chu, Touya, Shishiwakamaru, Suzuka and even Rinku from the tournament. Amongst them was Kurama and I stood up to join their side as Yusuke reconnected with old friends.

"Kurama! It's really you!" I said giving him a hug and he smiled to see me and Yusuke's reaction. He then turned to Yomi. "I'm sorry Yomi. But from now on, I only represent Kurama's side. And if you don't go along with it, I promise you none of us will hesitate to take his side over yours." I beamed at his words. Kurama who had made his way to this world to be Yomi's second in command was now siding with Yusuke in terms of a free for all.

"You don't even know who I am, but I can speak for several that we too agree with Yusuke's proposals." I chimed in happy to see Yusuke's plan taking effect. Something else seemed to strike chord with Yomi as his face showed that it seemed he was outnumbered.

He stood up and faced us. "I accept."

And with that there was no more territories but rather a giant tournament that seemed to dictate every demon's actions. In one hundred days the fruition of Yusuke's plan would be revealed.

Yusuke, I and Hokushin began to leave Yomi's territory after the minor details were ironed out. Before getting to the edge of the city two figures met with us.

One who had their face covered by bandages and seals and the other with an all too familiar third eye. Hiei. Our eyes met briefly before he fell back allowing whoever accompanied him to lead.

"It is truly a pleasure to meet you son of Raizen." The taller figure addressed Yusuke as the two of them stepped closer. "Please, place these at Raizen's grave for me." She asked him as she handed him a couple of flowers and Yusuke took them. "He was a great leader like you, but he died a fool."

"Mukuro…" I said the name of the third ruler and with the two's departure I was made known that that was who had summoned Hiei in the first place.

Not so much as a single acknowledgement or a hint of surprise that I was in demon world in the first place. "I'm glad you're still alive." I said towards the sky hoping he had heard before he truly left the area.

From there Hokushin led us back.

When we arrived back, Yusuke was met by his followers and I by Naoki, Himawari and Tsubaki. I informed them of what happened while we were at Yomi's. Once that was taken care of, I led them to Yusuke so we could tell him on what we all agreed on.

"I have to say what you did was really risky, Yusuke." I started off chastising, but then I smiled at the half-breed. "But thanks to all of that, I was able to see you, Kurama and even Hiei." I wish the reunion could have been longer…for each of them. "I want you to know I'm one hundred percent on your side. I'll head back and inform the other syphs that they are no longer respond to a tyrant but the rules of a tournament set forth by a dear friend. We'll all train very hard and I can't wait to see you again." I ran up and hugged Yusuke and he returned it as well.

"Train hard, Sakura. You've got a long way to go if you wanna go against me." He teased. "But hey, it'll be good to see you again when the time comes." He gave me a thumbs up. He looked past me when he noticed that the others wanted to speak.

Tsubaki spoke first. "It seems that lady Sakura was correct in trusting you Mr. Urameshi. As she said we will all train hard and work with another to help bring about a ruler for this world that matches your envision."

Himawari came and placed her arms over my shoulder. "Lady Sakura will be watched over so no sweats there Yusuke!" She gave him a victory sign and a grin.

Naoki then spoke up. "It's nice to see my sister made friends in the human world and even better that you seem to hold no grudge against us."

We all stared at one another and then nodded as it was time to depart. "Until next time, Yusuke!" I said and we all left Raizen's castle.

As we made our way back to tell the news to the other syphs, I turned to the three of them. "You addressed me as lady Sakura. A title for your leader, even though you agreed with the tournament." I told them. It seems they were all intent on me taking over.

Himawari nodded. "While you were away we had our own meeting too you know. And when Yusuke came back with you it barely made a change. It doesn't matter if we win or we don't or even if Yusuke's plan had backfired. We want you to lead our clan…no our family to whatever hardships we may face. 'Lady' may seem like a leadership title, but to us it's a way to let others know you're the lead of the family."

Tsubaki smiled. "We are confident in you and we'll stand by you against Sayuri."

"You're not alone anymore." Naoki said. "None of us are."

And I felt like crying with those last words. I was no leader like Yusuke…but being part of a family…I could go with that. "Let's go home." I said to all of them and we made our way back.

We arrived back to Yoruka but Shion was not there to greet us. The city of Yoruka was exposed. Yoruka was rather grand even if there were few among its land was what I first thought of it. Now, before me buildings were in ruin and there was no one around.

"W-What happened Tsubaki said walking closer to see the destruction of her home.

"Is anyone here?" Himawari shouted.

Slowly a couple of syphs emerged from the rubbles and like the buildings themselves, they too looked beaten down.

"Thank goodness she did not find you." Among them was Shion who ran up to us.

"What happened?" I asked her.

She bowed her head down at me. "Forgive me, lady Sakura, this was all I could was to protect who we have left." I turned to the others. It seemed the idea of me being the leader had spread even before they told me.

She then looked up at me. "When you left, Sayuri wanted to kill more of us in order to become stronger. We fought back of course but her power spike brought about demons in the area. They mentioned something about killing off the competition before some sort of tournament began. Sayuri fought against those demons and in the process many of us were killed. They overwhelmed her so she made some of the men kill themselves in order to seal their powers. She was so busy with them she barely had time to kill one of our own. When I heard what was going on, I created an illusion that made it seem most if not all of us were dead to prevent any more lives lost. I believe I was too late though." She apologized and bowed down.

I walked up and helped her up. I shook my head at her. "You wouldn't have known. You can't blame yourself for this." I looked around to see they had all gathered out. I took a quick head count and saw that a clan of what was once fifty something had been cut in half.

I turned to all of them. "I'm sure by now you've all heard that I was going to lead a rebellion but as you can see there is no rebellion to be held with Sayuri gone. It seems she wanted to get stronger for a tournament that would rule all of demon world. I plan to participate in this to stop her. I join as Sakura and only Sakura. I am no 'lady' Sakura as you all want to address me. We are each our own now." I addressed to all of them. "We will no longer stand as a clan…but rather a family. And if you'll have me as that, then I will take that title with gratitude. I ask that all of you help me train and I'll do the same if you choose to enter into the tournament. But before all of that, I want you all to first help me give a proper burial to our fallen family members."

They all nodded and listened to me and gave the support one another needed. The burial was done quietly and quickly.

Once that was done they all looked to me for the new steps to take. It seemed they all agreed that I was still in a leader position but there was a trust I felt from them that I never saw with them and Sayuri. My family was still trying to recover from the damage that she had done. While I accepted them as a family and vice versa, they still looked to me to be a guide and I wasn't sure if I could do that.

And then a huge surge of energy spiked towards the sky in a raging red pillar. It was in the direction that we had come from. Raizen's castle. "Amazing…" They all joined me and looking at it. "Yusuke…you've brought about such a change…" I smiled to myself. And then I thought of seeing Kurama who had helped train all of Yusuke's friends. Then I thought of Hiei who actually seemed to be following someone else for once. Such changes in my friends…it was time for me to step up as well. And maybe the next time should Hiei and I meet again, perhaps he would notice it too.

I turned to all of them. "My friend Yusuke is no doubt the cause of that power surge, whether it's from him or comrades. He'll be in the tournament. We can't let him show us up. We are all very much capable and within the next one hundred days, let's work hard to not only train but to rebuild Yoruka. Everyone, are you with me?" I asked smiling at all of them.

They all looked at me and smiled. And they were smiles that seemed to have been gone from this place for a long time.

And so one hundred days passed in rebuilding our strength, our city and our hearts.

-x-

A/N: Yes! The next chapter will be the start of the tournament! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and leave a review! Thank you for reading!


	23. Unsaid

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: The start of the Demon World Tournament will begin!

-x-

Naoki and I listened carefully to the new rules of the tournament. Apparently there were so many challengers that the best way to host the tournament was to having a drawing system and have challengers placed into groups. One from each group would then go on to compete in the tournament.

One hundred days had passed and it came to this. We were all hoping to have more of chance but we realized it was best to keep our numbers of entry small in the event the tournament became too hostile. Besides, we had other priorities besides ruling all of demon world. Sayuri never disrupted us during our training and we were all thankful as we were not only focusing on that but also rebuilding Yoruka.

In any case, it would just be me, Naoki, and Himawari who would be entering. Tsubaki decided to opt out and support us among the crowds with the rest of the syphs who came to watch the tournament.

"Sakura, remember when I told you there was still some things about our mother to be said?" Naoki asked me while we got out of line from getting our registration number. I nodded at him. "I don't plan to tell you any of those things unless you can beat me in the ring." He stated clearly.

"T-That's a stupid condition! What if we don't even get matched dummy." I reminded him of the rules we were told of just now.

"I suppose whoever advances the furthest then. If Sayuri doesn't show up we should keep you focused on something." He smirked at me.

"Ooh…I'm starting to wish I was an only child again!" I retaliated back and Tsubaki separated us.

"Now, now, we should do our best to represent syphs considering the large crowd this tournament has gathered.

I looked around and heard all sorts of information about demons wanting Mukuro and Yomi to duke it out allowing them to not have to care and be able to rule the world themselves. I shuddered if a lower ranked demon were to get the title.

"Plus we have other things to concern ourselves with." Tsubaki said with her voice lowering and we looked in the direction she was staring. Sure enough Sayuri had come to the tournament and she already had a number plate on her.

We all were on guard as she made her way over. We knew she wouldn't try to kill us as she would be foolish to start something in this crowd. "My, it seems you've managed to survive once again. Weeds like you need to be destroyed at the core if we ever want a perfect garden." She remarked.

"How dare you speak of lady Sakura like that!" Aki, a friend of Naoki's spoke out and I held out my hand to stop him from going any further.

"Oh? So they decided to have the little halfing rule them now?" Sayuri laughed. "Have they forgotten it was you who killed the next in command. Your very own mother." My temper flared but the presence of everyone else kept me from acting on it.

I glared at her and finally took a deep breath. "We'll settle this in the ring." I said curtly.

"Assuming something like you can even survive." And with that she disappeared.

She was stronger, I could tell without a doubt. The training I had gone through and my mother's power and my own all combined…I felt like I could barely match her if we were to go one to one. I would hope that I wouldn't fight her right off the bat and have some matches to do some last minute training.

In any case, the tension that arose from seeing her needed to be cleared. I excused myself from the rest of the group and decided to look for familiar faces.

It turns out Yusuke wasn't hard to find as a crowd had gathered around because both Yomi and Mukuro were addressing him. He always seemed to bring about surprises and that was held true as Mukuro revealed to the crowd that she was in fact a woman underneath that headdress of hers.

She had short bright orange hair and her facial features looked lovely from the half that remained. The other half seemed to have been constructed. She was an interesting person and I could see why Hiei had seemed to follow her when I saw the two. There was more to her than just strength.

She walked in my direction and I found myself holding my breath. Our eyes met briefly and in that moment there was a link of some sort.

_So…you're Sakura._ I heard her voice in my head.

_Um…have we met…?_ I was hesitant in responding back.

_I'd like a chance to fight you. You're not nearly as interesting as Raizen's boy…but perhaps in relation to Hiei, than yes…_

She kept walking all the while this was going on and only when I felt we were no longer in each other's thoughts did I breathe out. So it seems that Hiei must have told her about his comrades in the past. Funny, as cold as she seemed, she probably was a lot closer to Hiei than I ever could be. And that made me a bit sad…but at the same time it allowed me to not regret the decision I would make once I got to see him and talk to him again.

I made my way over to Yusuke who had just finished with his conversation to Yomi. "Yusuke!" I called out and he returned my happy greeting.

"You made it after all!" He looked past me. "Looks like minus the lug at home we've got one happy reunion. Kurama! And Hiei!" Yusuke said and I turned around and sure enough both were present.

I smiled at both of them, even Hiei, as if all the time that had passed since their first departure never occurred.

"Hey guys can you believe it? Our little Sakura is growing up and even she's in on this." Yusuke said while patting me on my head.

"Well, maybe if you had a little more faith in me back then." I pouted. "Though I have to say the idea of facing any of you would be rather fun after I take care of my own matters here." I smiled to myself.

Yusuke nodded at me remembering what I had told him once in passing. Kurama looked at me encouragingly as well. While it was brief, we were able to catch up a little before Yusuke and I had left the city of Yomi's back then.

"I don't know what secret all of you are in, but fun would not be the right word." Hiei addressed me for the first time.

I looked down for a second and then at him with my tongue sticking out at him at his remark. "Jealous?" I asked not knowing what else to say. He only returned my question with a scoff.

Yusuke decided to address Kurama to move on from the matter. "You know Kurama, this would be the first we've got to fight. And Hiei I'd have to make it three for three." Yusuke was as cocky as always.

"The last was a draw and you'd best hope we're not in the same group. It would be humiliating if the man who planned this tournament was eliminated so early." And so was Hiei in terms of dealing with his friend Yusuke. He could ignore it all he wanted but that was obviously the case.

"Not as humiliating as…standing on a phone book while you fight." He shot back.

Kurama and I both sighed at the two's exchange. "Perhaps you'd both be better served to save some of this hostility for the tournament." Kurama tried reasoning as well.

"Who knows, maybe they'll knock out each other before this even starts." I said with a sigh.

Koto, who I remembered from the Dark Tournament, was announced hostess of the tournament and made a rather flashy introduction. I didn't really have time to focus on that. Every so often, I stole a glance at Hiei. I wondered if I would ever have the time to tell him what I had been wanting to for a while. In fact, I even wondered if it was the right time at all.

"Just what are you looking at now?" He asked noticing my glances.

I shook my head. "Nothing." I chickened out. I didn't want to say it here and as much as it had to be said so I could move on, I wasn't quite ready just yet.

I turned to all of them but my words were mostly addressed at Hiei. "If you'll excuse me, I have to meet up with others before I get in line to draw." I then focused on all of them. "Do your best guys!" And I ran off.

I met up with Himawari and Naoki shortly.

"There you are! We were getting worried you'd were dragged off by Sayuri and chopped to bits!" Himawari greeted me.

"That's…very comforting." I said glaring at her.

Tsubaki was still with them as well. "Are you alright? You look a bit flushed." She remarked.

I froze. I didn't think Hiei could still have that effect on me. Himawari then held her hand to her mouth and snickered. "Hey, don't tell me you've met up with an old lover."

"W-What?" I shrieked at her in disbelief. "Hiei and I are no such things!" I shouted.

"Oh, his name is Hiei is he?" She had a devilish grin about her.

I glared at her. "It's nothing!" I then returned to a more serious demeanor when I heard Mukuro be called out at what block she had drawn. "Yes…it's nothing. Let's go draw our numbers."

"Hey, I was just kidding!" Himawari shouted running after me noticing the change I had in my manner about the subject.

Himawari was in block two while Naoki was in block ninety seven. I wondered if I would be given the chance to fight with one of them before. I went up and when it was my turn to draw. I reached my hand in and pulled out a number.

My heart sank and it didn't help that a couple of demons behind me gave me sounds of pity at the card I had drawn. Seventy four. The same group as Mukuro.

I walked over to Himawari and Naoki shaking a bit. "Dammit!" I shouted out loud. If I was already starting off in her block, I had no shot of what I even came here to do. They all tried to console me but it was to no avail.

In the distance I saw Mukuro look in my direction and she walked away once confirming I did see her. "Contestant 1287, Sayuri has been placed into block seventy four!" I heard Koto announce.

I immediately turned to the screen and saw it was indeed Sayuri. I bit my lip and realized the situation I was in. "It looks like…luck is on my side after all." I said to myself.

"Sakura, don't be stupid!" Tsubaki told me and it was so rare for her to break her formality. "She's in the same group as Mukuro. Let her take care of it. You can take Sayuri on we're confident. But the two at the same time or one after the other? We can't lose you!"

I turned to Tsubaki and smiled. "Hey, I made a promise right?" I looked at all of them. "Going against Mukuro…that's going to suck. But against Sayuri? I can't let her get away without knowing what she has done to all of you and to me. If it's done through fists, then so be it." I was determined now. They all could see that and they decided to drop it. I was more thankful that they let me go off on my own to a waiting room while I waited for the lottery lots to finish being called out.

"I guess I've got no choice." I told myself.

"I hope that choice is to quit the tournament." I looked up and saw Hiei enter the room.

I frowned at him. "Now why…in the hell would I do that?" I said standing up with arms crossed.

"It's a fool's errand to go against Mukuro at your level. You think I haven't noticed? You've gotten stronger but not even to match her." There he went again speaking so highly of Mukuro.

"Hmm…" I mused to myself. "It's…different hearing you speak so highly of someone." I remarked. I wonder what his time with Mukuro had been like. I'm not saying there were feelings between the two but there was no doubt a bond of some sorts for him to speak so highly of her. It was saddening but comforting to see Hiei could be that way with another.

"It's only different because you never hear such words." Hiei remarked.

"Why do you always do that?" I said getting into his face. "You're always knocking me down a peg before I even get a word in!" I then blinked at him a few times.

"And just…what on earth are you doing now?" He said as he stepped away from me rather quickly.

"I was just noticing…how much taller you've gotten." I told him. "We used to be the same height more or less and with so little time you've already gotten me beaten on height too." I regained my composure and so did he…for whatever reason he lost it in the first place. "Look, I get it Mukuro's strong…but I'm not after her. So you don't have to worry about that."

"And why would I need to concern myself with that?" He asked again. So full of questions! "Whatever else you've got on, is it worth being killed over?" He remarked again.

I fumed over being looked down again. "It's like you didn't hear a word I just said!" I shouted.

"Hey…Sakura." I turned around and saw Naoki walk in. Probably because he could hear his sister shouting. "Is this guy bothering you?" Naoki asked and glared at Hiei.

Hiei glared back. "I don't believe this concerns you." He said. And it was true, plus Hiei seemed to hate it when others got involved in his own things.

I let out a sigh. "Naoki, I'm fine. I'll meet up with you later okay?" I gave him a nod and after a bit of hesitating, he agreed and headed out but not before giving Hiei one last look.

"You would think your boyfriend would be telling you not to go jump into your own death." Hiei said with a sneer.

I stared at him blankly. "B-Boyfriend? You think…him…and me?" I stepped back and waved my hands frantically. "Ew, ew, ew, ew! What's wrong with you Hiei! I could never date my brother even if we're half siblings!" I protested.

"And why the hell would I have known that?" He shot back. He now seemed agitated by my existence in general at this point. "Since when did you have other family members?" He was clearly still annoyed about his assumptions being completely wrong.

"You wouldn't have known that. I would ask why do you care but I don't think that's ever been the situation with you Hiei. You've never really cared, just doing whatever was best for Hiei." I looked him in the eye because it was something I had to do for the next part. "I think I understand that now. I need to do what's best for me, as Sakura."

He looked back at me and seemed to now want to listen. "It would be nice if we can leave it like that but the last time we did, I only said 'thank you' and I realized I had a lot more to share with you and so much more I wanted to talk with you about. I don't think that time will exist after today. I have to fight someone in that block and it's not Mukuro. They might kill me off or like you said it might be Mukuro. But I can't run away from it. You're the one who taught me that, remember? I'm going in well aware of the outcome." I breathed deeply. "Knowing that, I've been trying to think of a way to sum all of the things I wanted to share with you and tell you."

"A goodbye." Hiei stated.

"Yes and no." I thought about the words I wanted to say next. "I want you to be able to know everything I've ever wanted you to know from me but I want to be able to say it and know that it's okay if we never talk or how I feel isn't accepted. I want to go into the fight knowing I've tied all loose ends with you."

I got up and headed towards the door. As I walked past him, I smiled knowing that this was truly me letting him go. "Hiei, I love you."

I didn't turn around and kept walking out of the room, out of the corridor, and somehow I found myself standing in the fighting area of group seventy four.

No other demons were around as they had all dropped out not wanting to fight against Mukuro. The only people in the group that stood on land were her, me, and Sayuri.

I turned to Mukuro before the demon trackers of the fight made their way into the land mass that we were on to start the fight. "Mukuro, I'd like to ask a favor."

She turned to me. "Oh? And just what kind of favor would it be that you'd ask from an opponent from the ring?" She addressed me.

"I want you to stay out of the fight." I said bluntly. "Let me and her," I pointed to Sayuri. "fight. I have a lot to settle with her, and I'd hate to die before I get the chance to." I stated.

"My, aren't you just a confidant weed." Sayuri spoke. "If I fight you first, it's no matter. Your energy will surely help me defeat this Mukuro." She scoffed. She didn't take either of us seriously. Hopefully her first and last mistake.

Mukuro didn't say anything and remained quiet. "As my opponent, I'm going to have to say no." My heart fell, but it was worth a shot. "However," she continued and I looked up hopeful. "As a comrade of Hiei's, I'd like to see what you're capable of. I'll wait until one of you is dead before facing the victor." She said and walked over to a tree and leaned up against it.

A comrade of Hiei's…I'm afraid that was no more. But she agreed and while the announcement of Mukuro sitting it out seemed strange to everyone else, it was a blessing to hear as I turned to Sayuri.

"You realize, you've only prolonged your death. But not much longer." She said to me as she summoned her syph weapon. It was a pair of daggers. A close ranged fight.

I summoned my blade spinner onto my wrist. "I could say that you're doing the same right now." I told her.

And with that the two of us came at each other and our weapons clashed. A large amount of energy released from the hit and it demolished most of the trees in the area. Lucky for me, I was able to survive, but so did she.

"Oh, so you have gotten stronger. Surprising given how weak your mother was." She teleported around not staying in one place so I couldn't pinpoint her exactly. "Falling for a human? It's bad enough she bared a son on her first try but then you came along. Why don't you just give up?"

"Shut up!" I yelled out loud and released a barrier surge in order to get her to stop moving. The electrical release did hit her and it was a surprise to her but I could see that that was all it did.

"Oh, so the weeds got feelings does it? Just like your mother. You can join her in her grave then!" She said and launched at me again. I thought maybe the electricity could have slowed her down somewhat, but I was wrong.

Her daggers were coming at me in a dangerous assault and it took every bit of my focus to not get hit by them. Just how much stronger had she gotten during those one hundred days?

I slid on the ground when I felt her blade made contact and a cut was visible on my cheek. "Oh did the poor princess get a scratch? That's nothing!" She clashed her two blades together and for some reason the clang of the metal seemed amplified and it resounded into a screech. I lost movement as I went and covered my ears. It was so deafening I was the one left paralyzed. Her power must have been sound.

I opened up an eye to see I was right as she had used the handle of her daggers and held them to her mouth. It must have been acting like a mic. "You see I was the daughter of the great lady Shunka. And she was going to make your stupid human loving mother the new leader. We can't have THAT now can we?" She spoke louder on 'that' and an impact to my side occurred.

"Like that?" She asked. "See I can control sound waves and create explosions against my opponent with my voice. Now, let's see you STRUGGLE!" She shouted again and another explosion hit me. This was bad.

I decided to make a run for it. Perhaps distance would prevent her from landing hits. She had to have some sort of radius. I began to make a dash but as soon as I turned around she appeared and hit me in my gut. "Aghhh." It was such a strong blow and had I not seen her at last second, I would have been dead if I didn't distribute my energy properly.

"Where do YOU think YOU'RE going?" Two more explosions and I felt myself keel over.

I scraped at the ground. I have to do it, I thought. I had to try and summon the harbinger of storms again. I had to completely absorb it. Even at this level, I couldn't take her. I'd die. But if I tried to summon it again, I could also die. Dammit.

Then again, I thought as I got up to my knees, I'd hate to die by her hands. "Come on." I said having my energy well up.

"Still trying? Why don't you just DIE!" She shouted again and another explosion sent me down.

"Come on…" I said trying to muster more energy to summon it again.

"Stop whimpering. It'll all be over soon." I could hear her approaching.

"Come on, come on, come on! I'M RIGHT HERE!" I shouted at the spirit to let it know it could take my life if it needed and that was the right trigger.

A large explosion, this time caused by me and it put distance between me and Sayuri. The beast had appeared once again and this time it knew my intentions remained the same and charged right at me. I welcomed it with open arms.

When it came towards me, I felt the same pain, if not worse, that I felt when I tried to do this against Naoki. I let out a piercing scream, but I didn't give in.

"You really are stupid?" Sayuri said getting up barely damaged by the initial summon. "If you want to kill yourself so bad I'd let you. But that's not any FUN!" She shouted as she got back up.

An explosion to my rear and mixed in with the electricity completely overwhelmed me. While her explosion began to disperse, the electricity of the being remained and I was being quickly exhausted of all energy.

"You cannot absorb me." I heard it's voice in my head.

"I can't give up!" I argued back.

"You lack conviction." It said and I could feel as if it rammed into me again as another electrical surge went through my body.

"Leave some hits for ME!" Sayuri shouted and another explosion that led me to fall face down into the ground. That was all she needed to escalate the summon trying to overcome me.

My vision began to blur. I could hear her coming towards me no doubt to kill me. But maybe the summon would as I had no energy left to consume her. Had I really come all this way for nothing? I was going to fail so many people, but mostly myself.

I shook my head in my thoughts. No, I was prepared for this. I wanted everyone to see that I didn't give up once. Did I do that? Everything began to become more blurry and a bit darker.

"The final surge." I could hear the spirit yell. His voice was always so booming just like thunder.

Sayuri's footsteps also seemed louder meaning she was close. The audience cheering for blood was deafening. I wanted my final moments to be peaceful. Didn't I deserve that at least?

And then I heard nothing. Nothing but one sound that seemed to pierce through all the noises in the world. It was feint, but I was sure I heard it. Was I daydreaming? I couldn't have heard that among all the noise. But it was there, feint but reassuring. A whistle calling out me.

"I'm here." I said to no one. "I'm here!" I shouted once more to whoever was whistling. Almost like a beckoning sound. "Listen to me!" I shouted and I found myself back in reality but suddenly I felt like I had all the energy in the world and the spirit that was ready to finish me off suddenly didn't know what was going on.

An internal struggle, but somehow less painful than before. An explosion of electricity occurred and Sayuri was pushed back. This wasn't like the one before. She had actually been electrocuted this time around and when the smoke cleared, as she struggled to get up, I stood tall once the smoke cleared.

"Why you little, still have some tricks do you?" She practically spat at me.

I stood there with a dull expression on my face. It was completely draining going through that but I felt so much stronger. Yes, I understood now the process that Hiei had once went through. I had become the harbinger of storms.

Sayuri ran at me and this time I dodged despite her being slightly faster. Absorbing that spirit somehow made it possible for me to sense movements through disturbances in static waves in the air. It made dodging her movements easy. Even the sound explosions.

"WHY WON'T YOU BE STILL!" She shouted each one and each explosion I dodged by a fraction.

"Okay." I said. I held out my palm and began charging. "Let's have you move then." A ball of electricity formed and I released it. "Torrential shot." It was the biggest blast I had sent off and while I gave her the option to dodge, it was not something she could escape. I had control over the static electricity in the air allowing me to use it to guide the attack no matter where she went. It was mere moments before she was hit and completely destroyed by the attack.

I walked over to where she was laying after the blast. She had been severely injured. Hanging just by a thread. "What are you waiting for? Kill me? Or perhaps you'll have one of the syphs seal my powers and then torture me." She laughed. "Is THAT the plan?" I moved my head slightly to dodge the explosion.

I shook my head. "I won't let anyone else die because of you. That includes yourself." She got up and started to head towards me swinging her daggers.

"You think I want pity from a weed?" She screamed as she swung.

I dodged each hit. "Not pity. I just don't want to kill any more. You've already done enough. Just leave us all alone." I told her as I shot another blast of electricity to stun her. "All those syphs you've killed. Their energy, they don't need to keep going around being used. I won't kill you for that."

She lunged at me again but before her daggers reached, another hand went through her abdomen and almost grazed my face. It was Mukuro who landed the deadly blow and left Sayuri dead and her fist bloodied.

"Words are wasted on someone like that. I said I would fight whoever remained alive and it was clear she was going to die had you not gone soft. I believe that makes you and I opponents now." She said.

I stood there staring at Mukuro. "You realize even with that summons power, I could never compare to you. I didn't want to kill her but what I intended to do here has been done. I don't want to rule over all of demon world. I'll give you your victory." I told her.

"A good offer, but one I must decline nonetheless." She didn't take a fighting stance but her composed demeanor and standing so tall made me feel she was ready to strike me the moment I tried to move.

I let out a sigh. I was exhausted. Things were never easy. "On one condition." I told her. I walked over Sayuri and made sure her eyes were closed. "I think she's seen enough blood in her lifetime. Plus, I won't let her get the satisfaction of seeing mine. Even if she's dead." I smirked. Big words were all I could say at this point.

"Hmph, you talk too much." I tensed at those all too familiar words. "Strange considering how guarded you seem against someone you've only met once."

"I don't like you." I found myself saying bluntly. "But I don't dislike you either…"

"None of my concern." She said and for a moment I saw the faint outline of her and felt a hit to my side. It felt absolutely excruciating and all I could do was fall to my knees. The worst part was that she barely used any of her strength, I'm sure. "If you're going to interest me without strength, you'll have to do more than that."

I got up and wiped the blood that I had coughed. "Why would I want to impress you?" I asked. "What could you have that I would want to impress? Power?" I shouted. "You saw what power has done for me." I mentioned to Sayuri. "I just…ugh, I don't even know!" I shouted at her and I suddenly felt frustrated.

I summoned my weapon and started swinging at her. She dodged with such ease. "Why can't you just take the win? You can do things a lot better than me. You can go on much further than I could. Just take the damn win!" I still swung.

She dodged another hit and then in a few seconds she was by my side. "How pathetic. I really should just end you if you're so willing to give in." And she hit me again and it was even more painful than the last.

When I got up I could see her in front of me again except there seemed to be two of her. My vision was disoriented. I had no energy left and I'm pretty sure this was the end. "It's much too easy to take the win. I was hoping more of a fight from you." She said to me.

I couldn't stand completely up. "I think I get it now. You seem to remind me of Hiei. That would explain why…I can't seem to dislike you completely. But it's still there. Why is it you? Why are you able to form such a bond with him?" I cried out to her. "When I first met him there was a certain loneliness that I just gravitated to because I had seen that look on me. I could only help myself though…so why…?" I was fighting back tears.

This person standing before who was so much stronger and better than me in every way. I told Hiei my true feelings and I just wanted to leave it at that because I knew how it would end. "You don't want it just handed to you? Fine!" I shouted. I could still see two of her but I used what little energy I had left and parts of my life energy to summon my weapon and I propelled towards her.

-x-

I woke up to see multiple eyes of staring back at me. "W-Wah!?" I shouted out loud.

"As great as it was to see we could all fit in this room, I told you all it was a bad idea." Himawari mentioned.

"Well, don't you think Lady Sakura would be rather upset if we weren't all here to greet her?" Yousuke mentioned and then they all wanted to pitch in their answers.

"None of you guys…are Mukuro." I said

"Sorry Sakura." Tsubaki managed to make her way upfront. "You would like to be informed yes?" She asked.

I nodded as I looked around and saw that I was in some hospital like setting. "You fought very bravely against Mukuro. In your last endeavor she used her energy and created a large explosion. It effectively knocked you out but the energy you were releasing must have protected you. She actually took you out of the battlefield and handed you to us. She told us to tell you when you wake up that very much like the battle you went through with her, she'd prefer that you would continue until the very end."

I blinked letting what Tsubaki told me and let it all sink in. "And the rest of the tournament?" I asked.

"It's still going on. The preliminaries are over. None of us made it through." Naoki informed me.

"Hey, if it makes you feel better Sakura, that Hiei you mentioned is fighting right now." Himawari chimed in.

I looked up at her and slowly nodded.

Unfortunately, Hiei's fight had already ended. Hiei looked rather injured in Mukuro's arms, but he seemed rather content with the fight he went through.

"Damn, looks like he lost too." Himawari said looking on.

"I guess so…" It was hard to take the words Mukuro said to me to heart after seeing what I was before me. "Then again…I suppose you would have to see both sides." I added in thinking that I suppose there was much more to say to Hiei than I thought.

-x-

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and leave a review! I would like to ask if you leave in your review if you guys would be interested in a sequel. As you can see things are starting to come to an end but I'm leaving it up to you guys on whether or not it's a true ending! Thanks again guys!


	24. Invitation

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: The last fight of the Demon Tournament is here! What's to come?

-x-

"Sorry you had to miss the fight, Sakura." Tsubaki started. "But perhaps now is a good time to have you examined since you've been out for a while. The next batch of fights aren't due for a bit."

"Plus you can explain to us about that cool summon of yours! And all those cool moves-" Himawari covered the mouth of Renge the youngest member of the clan.

"Shut it kid, our lady Sakura's got to rest." She gave me a thumbs up and guided the rest of the members elsewhere around the tournament while Tsubaki and Naoki led me back to my room I had woken up earlier.

On our way back, I noticed someone familiar being healed and I rushed in. "Kurama!" I called out and he looked up at once.

Despite looking battered up, he still managed a smile at me. "Sakura, I am glad to see you are well." He told me.

"I'd like to say the same for you." I said with a meek smile. I never liked seeing him hurt given the times from the Dark Tournament. "I'm sorry I missed your fight. It looks like I missed out on a lot of fights while I was out."

Kurama shook his head. "It's quite alright. Plus, Yusuke's next match is coming up promptly. He'll be facing Yomi."

I bit my lip. "Already?" I hoped boy wonder would find a way out of that alright.

"I'm sure Yusuke will surprise us all somehow." Kurama said as if reading my thoughts. I smiled back at him.

"I think I should let you rest now. We will have to catch up." I told him and waved goodbye.

"You've made some interesting friends while you were in human world." Naoki remarked as we headed into my room and Tsubaki went to go get a healer.

"Yeah, I really have." I nodded proudly.

"So while we have some time, did you want to know anything about our mother?" He asked me as he grabbed a chair and sat across from me.

"I thought I had to beat you again." I said with a small smirk.

He laughed. "Well we could fight here, but I'm sure that's frowned upon. What you did out there for me, for all of us, was amazing. I think you deserve a couple of answers." He concluded.

"I do have one question that comes to mind immediately. When I fought Sayuri…she said that she was the daughter of lady Shunka. And yet she killed her because Sayuri wasn't next in line to be the leader." I started to allow him to finish it with an answer.

"Ah, yes. I had just been born after that whole situation, but from what I heard lady Shunka's plan was always to pass on the title to the one she felt was most deserving. Unlike her daughter, she believed in fairness and peace. Our mother best exemplified that and she was to be chosen. In a rage, Sayuri killed lady Shunka to gain the position instead."

I tilted my head. "If she absorbed lady Shunka's power wouldn't she have surpassed our Mother? In fact, all the other syphs she killed as well. That would have easily made her stronger. Unless our mother…"

Naoki closed his eyes. "You're correct on that. Our mother did kill. But," I felt myself sigh out in relief when he continued. "There were different conditions behind that. Lady Shunka is the one who actually started our mother's so called killing spree. For a long time, our mother didn't know of her ability. Everyone just assumed that she had to be just a pure syph then. However, in reality our mother's ability is discreet poisoning. When she found out and told lady Shunka, she advised that it was best our mother kept that ability between the two of them. And she did and she only ever told me."

I listened intently as he inhaled noting that it meant he had more to say.

"When people were marked to be killed by Sayuri, they came to our mother because she was known for having the ability to talk to a person to calm them down. In reality when she talked she was gathering information to unlock her ability to be used. The poison calms a person, thus how the rumor started. It's undetectable and only activates when a person's heart rate is elevated to a certain point. When you see your killer coming at you, that tends to do the job. The combination of the poison and the wound from Sayuri make them both the killers. Thus they both get the power split in half. It's how our mother managed to stay evenly matched with Sayuri. Of course when she had impromptu killings our mother couldn't do much."

"Wow…she is who's amazing." I said quietly in reference to what Naoki had said to me earlier.

"That she was." He said looking a bit past me. The two of us were okay now, but I'm sure there was still sadness that he carried.

"Can I ask about how she was with our different fathers?" I was curious on the matter.

"Our mother liked my father a great deal, but I'm not sure she ever loved him the way she did yours. That's not to say it was still painful having to kill him. Having me be a male and not have the useful ability of my father's gave her a harder time from Sayuri. You know, I met you once before, but I really thought you had died. After she met your father and returned she had you. I was still very young but I remember her holding a baby. At that age it didn't register to me you were my sister since I knew my father was dead. She didn't know what to name you and she never got the chance as you were found out. I never saw or heard about you again. When she told me everything she said the day she gave you to your father was the day you were named. Your father had actually been the one to pick your name. He named you Sakura because it was a reminder of our mother who was named Oka." I thought about it and realized that with the proper characters, her name's spelling also involved cherry blossoms.

I smiled to myself knowing that I was named after my mother and by my father. Something I had from both. "And that was that then."

"I suppose, but every year she always took me to the human world. Sayuri never knew thanks to Shion's illusions, but our mother planted a tree. We visited that same spot every year and I asked why one day. She told me as long as the tree remained alive, it gave her hope that someone out there was alive as well. Now I know she meant you." I wanted to cry. "That day will be coming up soon. We should go together. You should see." He smiled at me.

I nodded. "Yes, that would be lovely."

Tsubaki came back and I was promptly checked. It wasn't long and I decided to wait for Kurama while the two of them decided to head back with the others. Some would stay to watch the rest of the tournament unfold, but the others would return as Yoruka wasn't completely back to its grand self. When I arrived at Kurama's room, he had been promptly taken care of and had actually already left.

Looks like I was on my own since I forgot to ask the others where they were going to be sitting. "I suppose, I should try and find them." I spoke to myself. Kurama was probably regrouped with everyone from the Dark Tournament. And then I felt a sudden energy spike. It was very familiar but as if it had multiplied tremendously.

I immediately rushed out and didn't stop until I nearly toppled over the railing to get a close glimpse of the large screen in front of me. All that power was coming from Yusuke who was now going into his fight with Yomi. "Jeez, is that really all boy wonder out there?"

"I see you've somehow made it alive." I immediately tensed when the voice reached my ears. I slowly turned around and saw Hiei had been present the whole time.

"I could say the same for you." Was my only reply.

We looked at each other for a few seconds and we broke our stares and looked on at the fight. Both had taken their stances and Yomi, though blind positioned himself in a way that was ready for hand to hand combat. "It's too bad all that training didn't develop his mind as well." Hiei remarked.

"Are you saying Yomi would win in hand to hand?" I asked. "If that's the case we're screwed since minus his spirit gun, that's all about Yusuke's got going for him."

Yusuke naturally charged in but somehow despite what the tension in the air predicted, Yusuke landed a solid hit on Yomi's face. Not only that, but Yomi was sent flying and crashed into the ground.

Everyone was in total shock. Given how much power Yomi was accredited for I could see why. Soon, Yomi got up however and the two went at it again. With a series of his own hits and an energy blast, it was Yusuke who was the one sent flying next. "Oh, man that one looked even worse than what Yusuke did to Yomi. Man were all your fights like this?" I asked, feeling a bit more comfortable around Hiei again…for the most part.

"Well if you had been better at resting, you would have woken up earlier and got a chance to see our fights." There he went again chastising me.

I then looked at him. "How did you know I was out the whole time?" I asked. He didn't answer. I wanted to say more but then from the peripherals I could see that Yomi had picked up Yusuke and began to beat him relentlessly and Yusuke was taking it as if he had become lifeless. He really did look like he became lifeless.

"It's like he lost all of his fighting spirit." I murmured.

"A fight is all he's got going for him. If he loses that, he's not going to last much longer." Hiei answered back.

"So you have an answer to that, but nothing else I say?" I quipped back.

"What do you want me to say, Sakura?" He returned not taking his eyes off the fight.

"Why did you whistle?" I shot back and I turned to him again, this time I didn't budge on my stare no matter how much he avoided my gaze. "That was you right? It couldn't have been anyone else. If it wasn't for you, I really would have died against Sayuri. I probably should have given everything that went on in the fight. So why did you do it? Was it because of what I said before? Was it out of pity? I have to know…and I know there's other important things right now." I nudged my head slightly in the direction of Yusuke's fight. Not only his but Mukuro and Natsume's.

"You said I didn't care. If it's one thing I hate, it's being wrongfully accused. You of all people should know that." He responded and still didn't look at me.

I then thought back and remembered to when I told him that. In fact, I had said that. I realized now that it seemed a bit harsh. But again, I found myself it was him just proving me wrong. Nothing else. But then that meant…I was wrong about him not caring about me. I wanted to address it more, but a shift in energy made me focus on the fight again.

Yusuke had made a comeback, but the energy shift was due to him taking on the markings he once donned when we first arrived in demon world. It was when he had channeled his ancestors. He seemed in control this time around…for the most part.

The two charged at one another and Yusuke disappeared only to show up to the side of Yomi and fire his spirit gun at point blank, as announced by Koto. Of course it was demon energy so maybe it was different. The blast sent Yomi flying but somehow once the smoke cleared, he survived and was surrounded by an energy shield.

Yusuke's blast had done nothing. It appeared Yomi would go unscathed for the rest of the fight. Still when did Yusuke ever give up so easily. He continued to fire shots even though they did nothing. "Yusuke…" I murmured to myself.

He fired and still it did nothing…or so I thought. Upon closer inspection, one could see that Yomi had looked shocked. Focused a little more off of that and you could see there was a crack in his shield. I looked back at Yusuke and saw he was firing shots that mixed both spirit and demon energy. "That's…some kind of strategy there half-breed." I smiled at how resourceful he could be in battle and not otherwise.

"He's not such a fool after all." Hiei said surprised by the outcome.

We were both cheering him on inside as we watched his markings disappear and he charged up once more and shot it at Yomi. This time, Yomi was affected and so was Yusuke. The blast seemed to consume both and only smoke was visible in the screen.

As if by some other miracle, both emerged from the smoke and faced each other once more. I let out a sigh of relief. "I know he's one for surprises, but he should really keep them in small doses."

"He wouldn't be Yusuke otherwise." Hiei said with a smirk at my words.

I looked at him and smiled. "Yes, I suppose some have changed more than others." I said to him and returned to watch the fight with a sense of warmth. Hiei was still the same, but something else was different. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it's as if he was changing right now in front of me. I guess when I told him how I felt, it was really a final goodbye for me at all. These feelings still remained and were growing. I'd be in trouble if I saw him any more after this tournament.

They both went at it again immediately and their power onslaught was causing the dome they stood to crumble to bits. He had a knack for ruining fighting grounds. They went at it back and forth and while the crowd seemed even more energized, I could tell it would have to come to an end soon.

"I can't foresee Yusuke lasting much longer." It wasn't Hiei that had voiced my thoughts, but rather Mukuro. I turned to see her walk towards us and I realized I was so occupied by Yusuke's fight, I never realized that hers was over.

"There's no way he'll win. Not in his condition." Hiei agreed with Mukuro not even turning to acknowledge her.

"Seems like he's the only one who isn't aware of that." She said looking rather entertained by Yusuke.

"Well maybe, but you two don't have to say it so bluntly." I frowned. The moment I spoke, I suddenly felt like I should leave. In fact I tried.

"And where do you think you're going?" Hiei asked.

"To get a better view of the fight." I lied.

"The best view is here. Stop fidgeting and just watch the detective fight." Hiei instructed and I felt obliged to comply with that attitude.

"Hmm, from what our fight implied, you two actually get along better than I thought." Mukuro mused out loud. I wanted to say something but I decided to bite my tongue this time around and return to the fight.

The two were having a stare down. This was it. Whatever move they chose to make next, it would surely be their last.

Again, both their energies spiked, and they charged at one another. With one final hit, their energies poured outwards and both began to fall, but at last minute Yomi held his stance due to a cry out from the stadium and Yusuke collapsed giving the win to Yomi.

A loud eruption of applause and jeers arose. "Looks, like Yomi won in the end. Shame." Mukuro commented and started to leave. "I trust you two plan to watch the rest of the tournament even without your friend in the running." She headed out no doubt to get ready for her next match.

"It's amazing how a sound among others can change an entire outcome." I said referring back to what Hiei had done in my fight.

"Perhaps." He said and I was surprised that he didn't deny it.

Mukuro was right however. The two of us continued to watch the fights that remained left in the tournament while Yusuke slumbered. Except it wasn't with each other. He watched alone as I made my way back to the rest of the syphs and we watched until Enki had won the entire tournament.

We were all pleasantly surprised when it came down to his ruling of peace within the human world and while some disagreed, they had no choice. Considering we had always planned that initially, we had no qualms. We met up with everyone once more and said our good byes and departed.

The end of the tournament seemed to go by so quickly and it was rather bittersweet, but that was life. You had to move on from one moment to the next. Again, we all parted and it still felt like the words we said were never enough.

But it's not like we had time. Yusuke had some business to take care of, Hiei was never one who had much words to begin with, and Kurama was jetting back and forth between human and demon world to work on the beginning peaceful relations they would soon have.

And me? I spent my time rebuilding Yoruka and the family I had made for myself.

It wasn't long after the tournament that we saw that come to fruition.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make!" I called out to them. "Through everyone's combined efforts and hard work, I can safely say that Yoruka has returned to its beautiful self if not even more from before." They all cheered and smiled at me in agreement.

"That being said," I continued. "I've decided that as Yoruka was built and rebuilt by your hands, it should also flourish in yours. What I mean to say is that I plan to return to the human world and make a more permanent residence there." Everyone seemed surprised and broke out into murmurs over my sudden announcement.

"But we need you lady Sakura!" One called out.

I smiled and shook my head. "Not at all. You all did this together." I said showing the city. "I stayed because I have come to care for all of you very much, but I'm no leader. And I never was even though you referred to me as such. There won't be a leader ever again for the syphs, and I think it's best if it would stay that way. This isn't a permanent good bye. I'll be back to visit of course!"

A lot of convincing still remained but they all saw me off properly and I realized it was nice to have family in demon world. My return to human world was something that I had thought about for a while. As much as I grew to love everyone here, human world was where I had been born, and with its new era of peace between the demon and spirit world, I'd like to see more of that.

Before I left the mirage that Shion created to block off entrances, Naoki called out to me and stopped me. "Hey, you know we'll visit you in human world too once things settle down. It should be fine as long as we don't cause mischief over there." He laughed. "Besides, I promised to show you that tree."

I nodded. "That's right. I look forward to it, big bro." I punched him on the shoulder to which he reciprocated.

And so we parted ways for the time being.

I made my way to the clearing Kurama told me to meet and I heard Hiei mention Kurama being a pain just like the first time they met. "Yo." I called out to make myself known.

I'd be going back with Kurama to the human world. "Ah you made it in time, Sakura." Kurama said waving at me. "Well, I'll be waiting over there." He said and nudged me towards Hiei.

"H-Hey!" I called out but he had left.

I stood there and blinked at Hiei. "Well?" He said as if I was the one who decided to keep him here. Kurama would get an earful later.

After the tournament, we never said anything else to one another. There was always so much to say. Or rather, there were so many questions left unanswered. And in that moment, I realized it was all because of him. I took a deep breath. "I'm going back to the human world with Kurama. It's not permanent, but I'll most likely be there then here. In a few months, it'll be my birthday. I expect you to show up then. I'll whistle if necessary."

"And why would I do that?" He said raising an eyebrow at me.

"Because, your gift to me will be an answer. You can't expect a girl to go on and have her feelings left unacknowledged. I'd like to hear how you feel. So please, think it over."

"And if I already have my answer?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Nope, you'll have to wait." I said sticking my tongue out. "You can't not visit human world Hiei. Your friends and sister will be waiting." I said smiling as I ran towards Kurama before Hiei could say anything about Yukina. "Your secret will always be safe with me!" I called out. "Don't forget! I'll see you in human world. I'll be waiting!" And with that, I left and followed Kurama to the portal to human world.

-x-

A/N: Shorter chapter, but with that I have to say the next chapter will be the last for this story! Don't fret as I do plan to have a sequel to this story and the first chapter will be up the same time the last chapter for A Single Flower, so you can dive right in!

I've had a lot of people request for Hiei and Sakura fluff, and as much as I want it badly as well, it's so hard given Hiei's character. You gotta admit, the way he would show feelings is like how Vegeta would. But I hope you look forward to what happens in the last chapter and the moments to come in the sequel! Until next time, drop a review! You have all been lovely!


	25. Flowering

**A Single Flower**

-x-

A/N: Here is the last chapter of A Single Flower. Enjoy everyone!

-x-

Being back in human world was a nostalgic yet unfamiliar experience. After being in demon world for quite some time, everything seemed so new and exotic. But going back to the place where I truly grew up and met the people who changed my life, it was comforting.

I had expected Yusuke to return immediately because there was without a doubt someone waiting for him, but he still had things he wanted to take care of. Kurama had returned with me, but he actually never stayed for long. He split his time between the human world and demon world. I joked he might as well have been the ambassador of connections for the two worlds.

When I first returned, I made my way back to Master Genkai's and informed her and Yukina of what happened alongside Kurama. Both were of course surprised of the outcome, but there seemed to be a sense of relief when they heard what occurred. And from that point, things didn't seem to change too much as, I had returned back to the room that I had once used while I was at Master Genkai's place.

Yukina and I talked about my family and she brought up her brother and I sheepishly ignored the question. A promise was a promise after all.

Things began to become routine and more so when Kurama's visits to the human world were more frequent. Soon, he'd be back here for quite some time, he told me when he came to visit to relay more information between the two worlds.

While life was beginning to settle down, for the first time, I didn't mind it. I was actually content with what was happening, and I knew that with everything that had happened in demon world, this was the best kind of normalcy.

It was one day when Yukina and I went outside to see Kuwabara, Shizuru and Keiko visiting. Genkai had called all of them and us to meet with her to discuss something of great importance.

It was a good time to catch up as well. While I had seen Kuwabara and Kurama on and off due to them relaying the news to us, Keiko and Shizuru were rarely seen. Shizuru with her budding career and Keiko with school, kept them rather busy. It was quite the treat to have us all here. It would have been better to see other familiar faces, but one couldn't complain with the turnout.

We all eventually sat down and waited for what Master Genkai had to say. First thing was to check up on the status of Yusuke. Kurama informed us that he still had things to take care of in demon world. Hard to believe since Keiko was over here in human world.

"I see, so Yusuke still hasn't come back." Master Genkai remarked. "What the hell is he working on?"

"No one is sure specifically." Kurama replied back. Then again, was Yusuke really working on anything at all.

"Oh come on, we know what he's doing. He's picking fights. It's not like he cares about anything else now." Kuwabara complained loudly. Bad word choice as Keiko was among us.

"You don't need to protect me guys." She started. "I'm just glad to see Genkai, let's just focus on that." She told us. In a way, her long hair seemed to reflect her more mature personality. Surprisingly that was possible for Keiko. But you could tell that there was still more to the situation but we didn't press on.

"Yeah, me too. It's a relief to see that you're still well." Shizuru added on.

"I'm happy day you're alive." Kuwabara chimed in. It seems we all wanted to cater to Keiko's wish.

"Well that's a peachy spot I'm in. Sticking around so you don't have a bad day." Master Genkai shot back and we all laughed. It was true though. Having her around the temple, there was always something to learn or do. She had a lot to teach.

"Well, I didn't know all of you would be here." We all turned around to see Botan, cheerful as ever. Yet another familiar face. It was good that she could join in on this reunion as well.

"Hey, Botan!" Keiko greeted her immediately.

"Hey Keiko, love the hair!" She remarked on the length.

"Well that's convenient, Genkai must have called you around the same time she did for us." Kuwabara added in.

"Me too." We all turned to the side to the source of the voice and were surprised to see Koenma stand before us, and of course in his adult form.

"Koenma, where did you come from?" Kuwabara asked.

"Well, that's a lengthy story you'll just have to ask my dad." Koenma replied.

"You cheeseball." Kuwabara did not humor him and I let out a small chuckle.

"Good, you're all here. Now sit down." Master Genkai instructed and even Koenma and Botan obliged. "There's only one reason why I asked you all to come. These recent years have caused me to think about my legacy. And so I want to tell you what to do after I die." That got serious really quick. And on such an unhappy topic.

"Genkai, you shouldn't talk like that." Kuwabara tried to laugh off.

"It brings bad luck." Shizuru added in.

"You won't die soon." Yukina threw in.

"You look good." Keiko said her two cents.

"You look better than I do in some days." Botan informed her.

"I think everyone agrees that you still have a lot of energy in you Master Genkai." I also didn't like the subject of the topic.

"Just shut up, and let me get this done." Master Genkai sighed out at us. She opened the doors to the room we were in and stared at it and we all looked on at her backside. "Once you've given me a teary eyed funeral, I'll be leaving this whole estate to your group." We were surprised by this. "That includes this temple and the surrounding land." Thinking back, Genkai had a very large property ownership. "A shore on one side and a stone wall on the other will tell you where it ends. Leave nature as it is. It takes several hours by car to reach the closest town. Not a convenient place for humans to live, but perfect for apparitions. The kekkai barrier is down, but it'll take a long time for humans and demons to live in peace." She brought up a good point.

"I spent my life trying to understand a demon and failed. Make this a safe house to bridge a gap I never could." Was her final wish to us. Truly a legacy that Master Genkai would be remembered by, but hopefully she still had some time to see us begin on this wish of hers. The more I thought about it, the more I'm sure it was my wish too, to see demons and humans live together peacefully.

After that, everyone but Master Genkai and Koenma decided to take a step outside her temple walls and head to the stairs and look at the land of Master Genkai's. "Amazing, all this land belongs to her." Kurama remarked as we saw the large stretch of trees before us and even the grand staircase in front of us.

"Yeah, definitely something we won't be chopping down. We'll do a lot of good stuff here." Kuwabara spoke.

I nodded. "We'll all see to that."

"We have time, we can go down to the shore." Shizuru suggested.

"Yeah, let's go! You game Yukina? It's guaranteed fun!" He turned immediately to her.

"Sure!" Yukina agreed.

"Oh, thank you for my invite lover boy." I said punching Kuwabara jokingly.

Everyone laughed and we all walked down the stairs and made our way to the beach. Us girls stopped once we realized the boys had stopped following.

"Hey, enough flirting boys!" Botan called up to them.

"Hey, if you want, the five of us could go to the beach alone." Shizuru said to prompt them to follow.

Kuwabara rushed down immediately and made some remark about Yukina and a bathing suit. Some things just never changed.

The beach was rather familiar, as I had been here once before. Shizuru and Kurama remained back, content with the view of the sunset from where they stood. The rest of us decided to get a closer look.

"Oh my, perfect ending for a perfect day." Botan remarked as she looked beyond the horizon.

"A sunset by the ocean is the most romantic thing I've ever seen." Yukina added in.

"Really?" I asked. "Well…it sure is a beautiful sight." I added.

"Most romantic huh…this is going to be my hour!" I heard Kuwabara cheer himself on as Keiko asked Yukina to join her in getting their feet wet.

"Maybe not, Kuwabara." I teased as I watched the girls head over and I thought about whether or not I wanted to get my feet wet.

"Best take advantage while the sun's up!" Botan said taking off her shoes and darting towards the shore.

"I will! I'm going to catch me a starfish!" Kuwabara decided on joining in too.

I smiled and didn't move and looked on at the sunset. It really was a picturesque scene. After what happened last time I was at a beach, I'd hate to ruin the moment with one of my antics.

I heard Kuwabara yell out Yukina again snapping me out of my thoughts. Yukina had made her way back to them. Botan had some shells in her hand and Kuwabara had a freakishly large starfish in his hands. I decided enough was enough in dwelling in the past and was going to take a step forward to join them, until Keiko's shout diverted my attention.

"This is the end!" She shouted out at the top of her longs. We all turned to her.

"I'm tired of waiting for you, Yusuke! Half my life I waited for you to come around. Even when you were here, you weren't really! You weren't here for me! Go on, fighting! But it's time I get what I want!"

"I could cry…" I heard Botan murmur.

And I felt the same sentiment. To have your heart wait on someone, it was often a burden. Not only that, but the idea of wanting to move on in hopes that maybe time could move on normally again for you. It was a struggle to decide which path to take. Even though I knew how Keiko felt, it's not like I knew what to say about it because I didn't even have the answer for myself.

But someone did. "I don't want you to wait either." The all too familiar voice and I looked over to see it was my favorite half-breed. Yusuke was standing right before Keiko. "See, you don't have too." He said waving to her.

"Yusuke!" Keiko exclaimed as she ran straight to him and the two toppled over. When Keiko regained her composure, she looked right at him and their lips met. As if nature wanted to keep their moment to themselves, a wave crashed right over the two of them.

"Bingo." I heard Botan say and Kurama and Shizuru chuckled over the situation. I could see why as the two were now apart and looked at each other with a surprised look.

Yusuke made the next move by taking his jacket off and made a chase for Keiko towards the ocean as a comeback. He was quick to not only splash her, but also Kuwabara, prompting him to run into the ocean to get back at his best friend.

Botan, Yukina and I all joined in and it was pure bliss doing something as simple as splashing water at each other in the ocean.

Of course, all fun things came to an end as we realized the sun was sinking further and further away. We all stepped out and watched the remaining moments of the sun setting. From there, we all decided to head back to the temple and everyone would just stay there for the night.

In my room, I had finished changing out of my clothes from earlier and I opened the window to let the night breeze enter my room. I looked out and thought about how today really did end perfectly with boy wonder coming back. It seemed like a perfect ending. If only things really did ever have an ending.

I turned around to head into bed, but not before letting out a sneeze. "You're going to catch a cold that way." I turned around to see Naoki's head at my window.

I smiled widely to see my brother there. "When did you get here?" I asked walking over. "How?"

"I made the trip with your friend, Yusuke Urameshi. Of course we parted ways shortly. I had to make preparations for tomorrow." I tilted my head. "I promised I would show you the tree. I didn't think your memory was that bad, sis."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "I didn't realize it was so soon." I defended myself. Besides, it's not like I ever really kept track of my birthday anymore what with having dates mesh between when I was told I was born by my father and when I had been actually born in demon world.

"Well, this was the time we visited the human world. I suppose, it's close enough." Naoki remarked. "Now, I'm sure it would be fine if I borrowed a room for the night?" He asked.

I nodded. "Of course." I walked out of my room to let him in and guided him to a free room for the night. He promised me in the morning as we made our way there, that he would fill me in on how everyone else was doing back in demon world.

-x-

In the morning, we traveled with everyone to the busses, as they all had places to get too as well. Kuwabara and Keiko had school, Shizuru and Kurama with school, and Yusuke wanted to check in on his mother.

Naoki told everyone while we were on riding together about the situation over in demon world. As far as the place collectively, demon world was settling down from the tournament. You had a few rogues trying to sneak in and cause mischief, but they were promptly taken care of. Those who were first to lose in the tournament had the job of watching over humans who wandered in and demons who tried to cause trouble and break rules. We were all rather happy with how demon world was looking.

As for the syphs, Yoruka was now fully built and everyone was working together and living peacefully. Once I left, they all agreed to uphold the idea of not needing a leader and everything was to be decided together. So far it was working. I was very happy to hear that. I couldn't help but chuckle nervously for Kurama when Naoki mentioned that Himawari had made a comment of him visiting again. "They're not my friends." I told him jokingly.

Eventually the bus thinned out with our group and it was just me and Naoki. "It's so strange to be using something like this as a mode of transportation." He remarked to me.

"It might have been quicker on foot, but I'd like to blend it. Plus, I'd take this over the large insect things any day." I shivered at the thought when I was told about such methods. Bugs were the worst.

"You are the strangest. Oh, and now that it's just us, I figured I should let you know now. Those committees set up to control the traffic between the two worlds, that Hiei is part of the first watch." He informed me.

"Is he now?" I said. It was the first time I heard about any news from him really. I figured Kurama never really ran into him or he just chose not to talk to me about since I left things sort of in his hand. "I'm guessing he must be busy." I said thinking about how I had asked for a response from him before I returned.

"Perhaps. We didn't talk much when I went through him and the others to get here. I still don't see what you see in him." He said crossing his arms.

"That's…hey, Naoki!" I frowned hoping this conversation wasn't where it was leading.

"I'm not playing protective older brother. I'm just saying, I'm not fond of the guy. It's ultimately your choice, and his, and seeing as there wasn't really much from him-" He stopped and looked at me. "Sorry, that was probably too far."

I shook my head. "Not at all. It was just the truth."

As if to prevent any awkward silence, the bus finally came to our stop. And yet another nostalgic place. Ayanagi city.

Naoki led me to the forest that surrounded the house I grew up in. We didn't head towards the place at all. In fact, we headed opposite from it. Eventually, we stopped and I didn't see anything except for the same type of trees I had seen for the last half hour we had walked around.

"Shion's power is pretty neat in where she can actually set up illusions elsewhere. They're a bit weaker and have to look more similar to the area around and they can be undone by others than herself if given the necessary information. In this case, a simple world will do. Toru." He said and the image of the trees began to slowly disappear.

I smiled to myself at the fact that the word was the name of my father. It only reminded me of what my mother had truly been like.

Once the illusion of the trees cleared out, all that was left was a clearing. "That's…not right." Naoki said stepping into the clearing and towards a hole in the middle of it. There was no tree that he spoke of. Just a clearing and the hole. "There's supposed to be the tree that our mother had planted." He looked around.

I frowned. To say I was disappointed was an understatement. "Well you said it could be undone by others." I said trying to not show it too much, since Naoki was already vocalizing it.

"Yes, but only Shion, I and our mother knew of this place." He frowned and then turned towards me. "I'm sorry…Sakura."

I shook my head. "It's not your fault. Maybe that old geezer mentioned my dad's name in passing and found it. He probably removed it himself. He was never fond of me." I said thinking back to my late grandfather.

The two of us saw no point in staying and had a quite ride home. Perhaps it was better this way. Returning to Ayanagi city every time to be able to see that tree would have been a hassle. And I thought not out of trying to convince myself out of my disappointment, but because it was how I truly felt. Yes, my father was buried there, and I would visit him on his anniversary, but the human me had also been "buried" there and it didn't feel right to return. Still…it would have been nice to see it.

When we returned, not much else was said, and it was pretty late, so we retreated to our rooms. Naoki's time was short and he had to return the next day.

I saw him off and made sure he gave my regards to everyone else. Things returned to normal for the most part. Yukina and I helped out around the temple and Yusuke would visit us since he wanted to catch up with Master Genkai, but also because he wasn't quite sure where to go since he returned. He was no longer a spirit detective officially. That didn't stop Koenma from giving him cases here and there. Simple ones though. He still wanted to do something here that didn't always revolve around fighting.

We figured visiting and talking to Master Genkai help him sort out some things.

"Hey, Yukina, are you off?" I asked her as she was heading toward the temple gates.

"Yes, I thought it would be nice to take a walk. Would you like to join me?" She asked.

I shook my head. "It's alright. I think Puu wants a bit of company, but perhaps I'll look for you after." She nodded and headed out while I made my way over to where Puu stayed.

I grabbed a brush and decided to first start off with grooming the oversized bird. Yusuke failed to do so when he last visited. Actually, I think he failed to do so on any occasion. I figured if I was going to do his job, might as well go all the way by giving him a wash too. I headed back out to get a bucket of water.

When I went back outside, I saw Yukina heading towards me. "Back already?" I asked.

"Well, when I was heading out, I ran into Hiei." My eyes widened. Hiei was actually in the human world. "He said my brother was long gone and prompted to return my hiruseki stone to me."

I bit my lip that Hiei had lied to Yukina. He could have gone on with the fact that her brother was still lost. Regardless, I looked at her and noticed she had a gentle smile about her. For someone who had lost her brother, she didn't seem fazed at all. "I decided it was best that he hold onto the stone." She smiled at me. Maybe this was something best left for Hiei to figure out when it came to Yukina and her brother. "I wanted to tell you, because it doesn't seem like he has left the human world after our exchange."

"So that's why you came back." I said. I looked past Yukina in the direction of the gates. If Hiei was still here, I don't think it was to wait to see me since he could have easily made his way here or let me know to meet him. He probably was avoiding me.

"Thank you, Yukina." I said. "Well, maybe we'll run into him on that walk." I told her to acknowledge the information she told me, but also to tell her that I wouldn't be trying to meet up with him.

Yukina shook her head. "Why don't you go? I'll take care of Puu from here." She said as she walked over and grabbed the bucket from me.

"Oh, but-" And then she prompted to rush me out. Even Puu came out and nudged me along. "Okay, okay. I know when I'm not wanted." I joked and I headed out.

Though she didn't voice it, Yukina knew that I was closer with Hiei, if you could call it that. And Puu being Yusuke's spirit beast only made sense for it doing what it did. Still, after everything that was left off, I didn't want to see him since he was the one who was supposed to come see me.

Still, a walk would be nice. Rather than head to the beach like usual, I decided to take the path towards the forest. I was always so busy speeding past it from the temple to the busses, that I never really took the time to see the surrounding land.

Eventually, the peaceful sounds of nature lulled me into feeling rather lazy as I fell on my back into the grass. The sky looked expansive and the clouds hung so low, I thought I could almost reach them. I turned my head from side to side to follow the sound of birds and it was then I saw a single flower catch my eye. I sat up and then picked it.

"That must be rather lonely. I'm sure you'd look much nicer in a vase than all the way out here alone." I was now talking to flowers. Wonderful.

As I got up, I noticed a few more flowers in the distance and I headed over. They almost formed a trail and I was intrigued. These flowers weren't too familiar on Master Genkai's land. Seeing as how plentiful they were, I took the one I plucked and tucked it behind my ear as an accessory of sort. I continued to follow them until I reached a clearing.

I stopped quickly as I saw in the middle a cherry blossom tree that stuck out like a sore thumb among the green trees. It was the time for them to blossom yes, but there weren't any other trees like that around here. I walked over to it and placed my hand on the truck.

The flowers that surrounded it at its base made the area seem so dream like. Even more so when I looked behind the tree and saw Hiei lying against it. He seemed to be asleep and I walked over and bent down to rest on my heels and have my hands rest on my knees. He didn't budge and it seemed as if he really was asleep.

A blossom petal fell and landed right on the tip of his nose. I couldn't help but chuckle and decided to reach my hand out to grab it but was quickly stopped as Hiei's hand grabbed my wrist and his eyes opened and met mine.

I blinked at him and then I proceeded to have my hand released. "I didn't mean to wake you." It was all I could think of.

"Hn." Was all he replied with as he got up and wiped the petals off of him himself.

"You always have a knack of finding secluded areas." I said admiring the flowers and the tree.

"I had a little help." He finally spoke. I raised an eyebrow at him. "You would think you'd know a little more about this tree."

My eyes widened as I put two and two together. "This is…that tree?" I exclaimed. "Is that why when Naoki and I went to go see it, there was just a giant hole? You're the one who moved it? How did you even find it?"

His jagan eye glowed underneath his sash. "Of course." I frowned. "And what makes you think you could just move it? What if you had damaged it?" I yelled.

"Do you really think I'd do something like this without Kurama's help?" He shot back.

"Oh great, you got him involved. And you didn't answer my question! Why did you move it? You had no right." I lectured him.

"You and I both know it was better to have it moved somewhere that doesn't tie you into the past of your father or your mother. I've heard of Genkai's plan to use this land as a fostering place for humans and demons to live together. A wasted effort. But it's something that seems fitting for you. The flowers were just something extra. For your birthday." He said with eyes closed and he leaned against the base of the tree.

"You're always having to play it so cool." I said. He explained all that effortlessly and while most found it to be a sweet gesture, coming from him you couldn't really tell what was the reasoning behind it. I smiled at him but I still felt a bit of sadness.

"If the flowers are for my birthday…then probably you have an answer that I won't like hearing." That was what I had wanted for my birthday. Hiei wasn't one to sugarcoat things, and he wouldn't, but I'm sure the extra mile he put into moving my mother's tree and surrounding it with flowers was because I'd end up hurt.

"I do." He said looking at me now. "My answer is that I don't have an answer." A gust of wind came by and the petals from the tree fell and blew past us.

Cherry blossoms were always so fleeting in life.

I looked down. "Well, that's rather convenient."

"It's not a matter of convenience. You're asking me to talk about something that isn't there." I bit my lip. Idiot, that was an answer right there. I wanted to tell him to say nothing more as I understood, but he went on. "All you've done is planted a seed and expect results right away. You of all people should know that's not how it works."

"I of all people? What's that supposed to mean?" I asked him out of genuine curiosity and not out of defense. It didn't sound like a reprimand coming from him.

"Even in the most adverse conditions, a seed can still be planted and eventually blossom. I am me, and you are you. In the end, if that's what brings us together, so be it." He spoke and he stared right at me.

Cherry blossoms, no matter how fleeting, they still bloom every year.

It may not be today, tomorrow, next year, or ever that Hiei would return my feelings. But for the first time he was acknowledging them and not only that but he accepted them. I could feel my heart wanting to burst out of it's chest. I know for him to accept them, it meant he cared. This whole clearing was something to show he cared. If you could take care of a flower, it meant you could take care of others and maybe even grow to love them. I had to believe it was so.

"Hiei…" I didn't have anything more to say and neither him and I let my actions take over and I ran up to him and threw my arms around him in an embrace. And to be held back by the person you love, this was enough.

-x-

Fin

-x-

A/N: And that's the end to A Single Flower! But don't fret, because if you go to my page you'll see the first chapter of the sequel is already up! It's been a crazy ride through Sakura's story and a huge deal for Hiei to just accept her feelings! Of course I still love those two together and I won't leave it just there.

Thank you to everyone who's read this and stayed with it! I hope you enjoyed it and I also hope you read and enjoy the sequel!


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